


Lost to the Stars

by unknown_knowns



Series: Star Crossed [2]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Enemies to Friends, F/F, Some Action, Space Flight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-15 02:26:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9214793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknown_knowns/pseuds/unknown_knowns
Summary: Chloe's life is ruined.Her home is razed.Her family is gone.Her best friend is a Sith.But.She can control time.She can make this all work out, somehow.She has to.She just needs to escape from this slave ship, first.And make peace with her annoying, entitled, cell mate.Somehow, that might be the more difficult task of the two.





	1. Slavery

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Friends.
> 
> Here we are with part two. I hope you're enjoying this concept as much as I am, since it's an awful lot of fun to write. 
> 
> As always, I'm happy to receive comments, and will try to read and reply to each one of them.

There was only one explanation.

Chloe was insane.

She was quieter when she woke up this time.

Her cellmate’s quip didn’t impact her nearly as much this time.

She had to be insane.

Sane people don’t believe that they can control time.

This had to be some trick of her mind.

Some last stage of grief or sorrow or guilt or _something_.

Just to test that it wasn’t a freak occurrence, she raised her hands up, just like earlier, and tried to recall that inciting incident.

And just like before, the world went quiet.

Then, everything moved in reverse.

She figured out she could stop it by lowering her hands, now.

Afterwards, she just exhaled uneasily.

Well.

If she was insane, she might as well make the best of it.

She looked to her cellmate.

Chloe didn’t really _look_ at her in great detail, before.

She had kind of a pissy, bitchy resting face.

Even with her eyes closed and her lips drawn into a line, she looked like she was judging _something_.

Her hair was short and blonde.

It was an impressive feat to keep it styled after all of the abuse and mistreatment they had suffered, so far.

She must have put a lot of care into it, before.

“Well? Are you just going to ignore me?”

Chloe _hadn’t_ responded to the quip, earlier.

It distracted her away from her study.

“Maybe. Are you going to keep being a bitch?”

This wasn’t the right approach to take, and Chloe knew it.

But she couldn’t resist.

The woman’s face harshened and she snapped her eyes open and she huffed and she turned her head and ---

She blinked and stopped dead.

She had no words.

Just a troubled expression.

Chloe felt self-conscious all of a sudden.

But it took her a few seconds to vocalize.

“What?”

Her cellmate frowned.

“You’re bleeding.”

Chloe blinked herself.

“ _What?_ ”

Her cellmate sighed in exasperation and looked away.

“Your nose. It’s bleeding.”

She hesitated,

“It wasn’t doing that five seconds ago.”

Chloe raised both of her hands up to wipe at her nose – since her wrists were still bound together by chains.

Sure enough.

Blood.

Her vision blurred.

But then she shook her head, and breathed in deep.

Now was not the time to lose it.

Even if she was going insane.

She lowered her hands back down.

Her cellmate was looking at her, again.

“Are you going to be okay?”

Chloe made an amused scoff.

“Like you care.”

Silence.

Chloe looked to her, but she was looking back at the wall, again.

Chloe sighed and leaned back on the bench.

The bug was still going to come.

She still had to find a way out of here.

Insanity or no.

This was going to be painful, but she had to make _some_ kind of peace with her cellmate.

The bug wanted her, after all.

Not Chloe.

“Hey listen.”

Her cellmate looked to Chloe again.

“One of those …”

Chloe looked away, towards the bars of their cell, before back to her cellmate,

“ _things_ , is going to come. He’s going to try and kill you.”

Her cellmate frowned again.

“But, it’s our only chance of escape. You need to bum rush him when he tries it.”

Her cellmate was quiet for a few seconds.

Considering.

Her lips had been pursed into a fine line.

She then bit her lip, before,

“He’ll just kill me if I try that. Hard pass.”

Chloe sighed and looked away.

She then slumped forward.

She clasped her hands together, though it was kind of a useless gesture when her wrists were bound together anyway.

“Maybe.”

She needed a reason – a lie – to embolden her.

Thankfully, Chloe always had an affinity for spinning stories and facts.

“I fucked with his gun earlier. You’ll have a jammed shot and the element of surprise.”

She straightened her posture, and looked back.

“It’ll be your best shot at escaping alive. I guarantee it.”

Chloe’s cell mate stilled and her face scrunched up in consideration.

She was quiet for a long while.

Eventually, she opened her mouth to say something, but ---

Chloe heard that damn bug coming down the hall way, again.

“Shh. It’s coming. Your choice, princess.”

Chloe looked to the bars that demarcated the prison cell and the hallway.

“Alright.”

Her cellmate’s voice was softer than Chloe had ever heard it.

Progress.

Maybe.

 

Chloe closed her eyes and stilled her nerve as the bug opened the door and came inside.

She tightly clasped her hands together and tried to keep her breathing steady.

She was insane.

She was insane.

She was insane.

There’s no way she was actually controlling time and changing the outcomes of events.

This was a dream or something.

Or she was insane.

Every grunt, hiss, and click that the bug produced was of the same that Chloe remembered hearing last time.

It was all happening the same exact way.

Then, that frustrated sound, when her cellmate didn’t oblige.

Chloe kept her eyes closed as she heard the struggling for the blaster ---

Click ---

She flinched as the blaster fired.

Quiet.

Thud.

Carefully, Chloe opened her eyes.

Her cellmate had the blaster and her eyes were as wide as could be.

The bug had fallen back onto the floor.

Dead.

Score.

Her plan worked.

But.

This was only step one.

And she frowned.

There was still a lot to do before they were free.

Chloe’s cell mate remained frozen for another few good minutes.

She then peeled herself off of the bench and ambled over, until she could kneel next to the bug’s corpse.

She looked up to Chloe, with an expectant look.

“Aren’t you going to help me search this thing?”

She sounded annoyed, but she kind of always did.

Chloe looked the hallway, and back again.

“Yeah.”

 

There was that part of Chloe’s brain.

The part that didn’t stop reminding her that she was insane.

That this wasn’t real.

That she couldn’t possibly be doing this.

It didn’t go away.

But Chloe figured out quickly enough that if she had something to do or something _else_ to think about, she could keep it mostly at bay.

At least enough to focus on the task at hand.

Escape.

The search of the bug’s corpse was fruitful, if morbid.

It had another blaster pistol, some ammo, and the key to their cell and associated restraints.

The two women mostly operated in silence as the items were found and restraints unshackled.

They were still silent as they made their way out into the hall way.

“We need a plan.”

Chloe’s cellmate spoke first.

Chloe turned to face her.

“I was thinking of just booking it to the exit.”

Her cellmate groaned and raised a hand to rub at one of her temples.

“There’s going to be way too many of those creatures in the way. You’ll get killed.”

Chloe just scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“There you go again, acting like you give one shit about me.”

Her cellmate shook her head.

“I do, if only because we have a much better chance of actually escaping if we stick together.”

Chloe sighed.

“I can feel the love from here.”

Quiet.

"Then we'll stick together and try to find the exit. Quietly."

"Good."

"Wonderful."

"Fantastic."

"Amazing."

Quiet.

"We should get going."

"We should. If you weren't so busy talking I would have said that already."

Chloe just groaned.

This was going to be _so_ painful.

 

But.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, working together was the best idea they had so far.

She just hoped she didn't come away from this with an urge to kill her newfound companion.

 

First, they had to find out where in the ship they were.

They carefully and quietly made their way down the hallway, together.

There were other cells, like theirs, lining the entire way.

Only they were different.

There was a thick, opaque blackness in between the bars for those cells.

It made it impossible to see in.

Or out.

At least they wouldn’t have to deal with anyone begging to let them free.

The end of the hall way exploded out into a massive room.

They were on a platform that ran the perimeter.

It had guard rails.

It looked like there were other similar floors below them.

Several.

All along the walls, hundreds upon hundreds of other cells.

They both gasped when they saw the sheer scale of it.

Chloe stopped short, but soon walked to the guard rail in front of them, and leaned on it.

“Wow.”

Her companion came to her side after some delay, resting on the rail in a similar manner.

“This is _immense_. There has to be _thousands_ of people here.”

Chloe looked around, examining the sameness of every single inch of this massive room.

It took her a while longer still to fully process the situation.

“We have to ---“

Her companion started, but then made a frustrated sound, smacked the railing, and stood up straight, with her arms crossed.

“Damn it.”

Chloe frowned, and looked to her.

“What?”

Her companion just shook her head.

“Nothing, never mind.”

Chloe just peered at her with a frown.

Her companion hesitated, then sighed wearily.

Chloe wasn’t going to let it go.

So she decided to talk.

“One of my … friends, was with me. When I was captured. He might be somewhere in here.”

She frowned herself.

“But there’s no way we could find him in all of this without getting caught.”

Chloe looked forward, to the infinite cells again.

“Maybe there’s some central location that controls everything. We could bust it and crack open this joint.”

Her companion scoffed.

“They can’t possibly be that stupid.”

Chloe grinned, but her companion wasn’t done speaking.

“Our cell was all analog, anyway. Nothing centralized about it.”

Chloe thought for a few moments, and then sighed.

Her grin went away.

Her companion was right, of course.

They’d have to do this the hard way, or not at all.

Some miserable part of Chloe reminded her that her situation was awfully similar.

And that Max might be in here somewhere, too.

But Chloe didn’t want about that right now.

She had to focus.

“He’d … understand if we left without him.”

Chloe looked at her companion,

“Yeah?”

 

Her companion started to nod, but ---

A bug hissed to their side ---

They both looked to it ---

The bug had a blaster ---

Chloe’s eyes widened ---

The blaster was _right_ in front of Chloe’s face ---

The bug started to pull the trigger ---

 

Time slowed.

The color left her world.

Everything went dead silent.

She could hear the blood rushing near her ears.

_What the hell?_

Time was basically stopped, now.

Chloe took the time to look around.

Her companion was starting to raise her own blaster, but she wasn’t going to get a shot off in time.

The bug seemed to be alone.

How did it sneak up on them, like that?

Was she stopping time like this?

She had so many questions, and that stupid part of her brain that was telling her that she was insane and this wasn’t really happening was having a field day with how unreal this was.

But …

If she was being given the opportunity –

She raised her hand up and tried to rewind time.

She watched the bug slowly lower its blaster and walk in reverse into …

_Oh._

One of the many hall way entrances around here.

At least that explained why she didn’t see any guards patrolling.

After the bug was out of sight, Chloe lowered her hand.

She didn’t feel nearly as exhausted from that rewind.

But that was only a few seconds.

“ --- without him.”

“Shh!”

“Wha –“

Immediately, Chloe launched herself at her companion and shoved them both into the hallway that they had come from.

Her companion’s face cycled through quite a few amusing expressions.

Chloe pushed them both up against the wall, and raised a hand to her own lips in a universal “shush” sign.

Chloe was expecting her companion to be difficult again, but she was quiet, this time.

Maybe the suddenness of Chloe’s advance just choked that part out of her.

Either way, they were mere inches apart, now.

Face to face.

_She’s kind of cute._

Chloe frowned, and lowered her hand.

Bad thoughts.

She needed to think of something else.

She looked to the side, to the hallway exit.

She watched the bug walk on by.

Chloe waited a while longer before pushing herself off of her companion.

“That was close.”

Chloe kept looking to the exit as she crossed her arms.

She heard her companion inhale sharply before hissing,

“Don’t do that!”

Chloe blinked, frowned, and looked to her.

She opened her mouth to retort about how she just saved them from the bug, but ---

“You’re blushing.”

Her companion _was_ , and it wasn’t particularly subtle, either.

But that just earned her huffing and shaking her head.

“You’re imaging things. Just ---“

She raised a hand up to rub at her temples,

“ _Don’t_ \--- push me up against a wall like that.”

Chloe shrugged.

“Alright. … I guess.”

She really didn’t need to give her any more reasons to be pissy.

Chloe looked back to the hallway’s exit.

“We should get going. See if we can find an exit of some kind.”

Her companion sighed.

“Yeah. Okay.”

 

They made good, steady progress along the ship.

Chloe was getting more comfortable with her rewind.

It was easier to ignore the part of her that was still unbelieving the reality of the situation.

She still had way more questions than answers, but.

At least she had a fighting chance to escape.

 

“My name. It’s Victoria.”

Her companion --- Victoria, apparently --- started suddenly, when they were about to round a corner.

Chloe hesitated, but peeked around it to ensure this was a good enough time to have a chat.

Seeing only empty hallway, she turned around to face Victoria.

Chloe frowned, slightly.

“There a reason you’re telling me this?”

Victoria frowned, too.

She then sighed.

“Because we’re stuck together. And I’d like it if we hated each other a bit less.”

Chloe scoffed and crossed her arms.

But she was smiling, now.

Slightly.

“Yeah? You mocked me for crying. You expect me to just forget about that?”

Victoria sighed.

She was quiet for a few moments.

Thinking.

“No. Not really. I don’t know. I just -”

She breathed in deeply and supported her chin with a hand,

“You reminded me of someone and I got defensive, okay?”

Chloe blinked and went quiet herself.

The stillness felt awkward and unnaturally quiet.

Victoria shifted on her feet uncomfortably.

She wasn’t enjoying the silence.

It wasn’t all that long before,

“Let’s just --- keep moving. Forget-I-said-anything.”

Victoria forced her way past Chloe.

And around the corner.

Chloe watched her go, still speechless.

She understood this Victoria _less_ and _less_ with every interaction.

But then she just sighed wearily.

And caught up.

“My name is Chloe.”

Chloe still kind of hated her for being such a cruel bitch.

But she hated her a _bit_ less after that brief glimpse of vulnerability.

That’s what she wanted, right?

They both smiled.

Slightly.

 

They continued.

They agreed to not kill guards they came across.

Not out of any mercy, but.

They figured they had a better chance of escaping if they did it quietly.

And the more bodies they made, the less likely they’d be able to do it quietly.

Chloe’s powers worked quiet well to that extent.

It wasn’t very long before they were on what they assumed to be the bottom floor.

 

Chloe peeked the corner.

Two bugs.

Guarding an exit.

A ramp of some kind.

To the outside.

She quickly pulled her head back to avoid being seen and sighed.

“Two, then we’re outside of the ship. Looks like we’re landed, at least.”

Victoria frowned.

“Do we have anything to distract them with?”

Chloe scoffed, amused.

“Short of one of us going naked, no, I don’t think so.”

Victoria groaned and hid her eyes beneath a hand.

Chloe just grinned.

“But. I think we can just take these two out, and bolt.”

Victoria was quiet for a few seconds.

She lowered her hand and looked thoughtful.

“What if there’s more outside? How do we get off this planet?”

Chloe shrugged.

“We’ll play it by ear.”

Victoria frowned.

“We didn’t come this far on a hope and a prayer.”

Chloe then frowned, too.

She crossed her arms.

“Well then, what’s your idea?”

Victoria made a thoughtful sound.

“I like part of yours. We can shoot these two and then run.”

She breathed in,

“But then we need a ship. Can you fly?”

Chloe looked to the side.

She raised a hand up to rub at the back of her neck.

“Yeah-sure, I think.”

Victoria’s frown deepened.

“If you’re lying to me _now_ after ---“

Chloe raised both of her hands up defensively,

“Easy, easy. It’s not that.”

They both softened.

Chloe sighed.

“Don’t worry about it. If we can find a ship, I can fly it.”

Victoria smiled, gently.

“Good. Alright.”

 

It was settled.

On three, they both popped out from behind the corner, and both took out one guard each.

There were two other guards on the _other_ side, who came to investigate, though.

They were dealt with, but much less cleanly.

That’s when they bolted.

When they got off the ship, Chloe was almost overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the city around them.

It looked like it went on for hundreds of miles in all directions – including up.

But Victoria didn’t give her the time to process.

They ran.

They ran through the landing pad.

They ran through the nearby space port.

They ran out into the street.

They ran past the degenerates and the low lives.

They kept running, until people stopped being suspicious and shouting at them.

And then they ducked into an alleyway.

They hid opposite a trash repository.

And breathed in deep.

 

“Eventful.”

Victoria started, first.

But she was breathless, and her word was airy and distant.

They were quiet for a little while past that as they recovered their breathing.

“Where’d you learn to run like that?”

“Where’d _you_ learn to shoot like that?”

“Where’d _you_?”

They both went quiet again.

In unison, they answered,

“My father ---“

And then they went quiet again.

More out of shock, this time.

Eventually, Chloe resumed,

“We should get going. We still need to find a ship and get out of here.”

Victoria was slow to respond this time, though.

“Yeah …”

And her voice was softer and more thoughtful than it had been since they had met.

Chloe never quite knew what brought out that soft side to her.

But she liked hearing it.

 

Now that they were done running, they walked.

They needed to not raise much attention, now.

Their clothes actually helped with that.

Slave tatters made them look as destitute as the other low lives around them.

New clothes weren’t a top priority right now, anyway.

They needed to finish escaping.

And for that, they needed ---

 

“A ship.”

Chloe hissed.

They both looked conspiratorially at one another, then down the alleyway that Chloe was indicating towards.

Down the alleyway there was an opening, some measure of clearing between the giant high-rise buildings all around them.

And in the center of that, a small ship.

A figure in armor was outside, talking to itself.

“We can’t ---“

Victoria started, but seemed to think better of it.

They started to walk towards their objective.

“We can’t kill him for it.”

Victoria finally finished, with a frown on her face.

Chloe gave her a sidelong expression.

“I wasn’t gonna.”

Victoria kept her frown, but didn’t look to her.

“Then what’s your plan?”

Chloe smiled.

“My plan is always ‘play it by ear’. Haven’t you figured this out by now?”

Victoria just groaned and rubbed at her temples.

“You’re fucking impossible sometimes. Alright- _fine_. You do your thing.”

Victoria lowered her hand and checked her blaster again.

“I’ll back you up if it goes sideways.”

Chloe nodded.

Victoria stopped now, and leaned against the alleyway’s walls.

She regretted that almost immediately, due to all of the grime present on them.

Chloe continued walking up to the armored figure and his ship.

 

“Hello? Hello. Damn it. Don’t do this to me _now_.”

The figure sounded increasingly exasperated.

Chloe walked up behind him.

Finally, he realized that he had company, and stopped facing his ship to turn around and face Chloe.

She couldn’t read his expression through the helmet.

But from his build, she figured he had to be a human.

“What the hell do you want? I don’t have any drugs.”

Chloe ran her brain for some lie of fabrication that would cause him to willingly leave.

Nothing immediately came to mind.

He didn’t have any reason to trust her, right now.

“Who were you talking to, just now?”

But maybe he’d trust her if she was sent by whomever he was talking to.

He scoffed.

“Get bent. Like I’m telling you.”

Chloe shrugged.

“Some guy sent me to go find some hard-ass with a ship and give him a message. Figured you might be him.”

He shook his head.

“Nice try, asshole. Cheep-cheep isn’t a man.”

He pulled out a blaster from his side, but had it pointed skywards for now.

“Now, get lost. I ain’t askin’ twice.”

But Chloe had the information she needed, now.

She rewound.

 

“What the hell do you want? I don’t have any drugs.”

Chloe smiled.

“I’m not here for drugs. Cheep-cheep paid me 50 credits to go find some hardass with a ship and give him a message.”

The armored figure hesitated.

“Yeah? What was it?”

Chloe crossed her arms and nodded back towards the exit.

“That it’s not safe to communicate here and you need to meet her, in person, just down the street a bit.”

When Chloe lied, she always tried to add more details in, to make it seem less likely that she just made it up.

“Jiro’s Diner. Tell the man at the counter ‘cheap meat’.”

The armored figure hesitated, before groaning.

“What the hell did Cheep-cheep get herself into now … All this fuckin’ secrecy and shit …”

He crossed his arms and started to out of the alleyway.

Chloe grinned.

Score.

Suddenly, he paused, and turned his head around.

"200 credits in it for ya' if you watch after my ship. No touching. Just keep other fleabags away from it." 

Chloe smiled warmly.

"Sure thing, boss."

He shook his head and continued on walking.

She watched him leave, and then watched a disbelieving, shocked Victoria walk up.

“I … can’t believe you talked him into leaving.”

Chloe grinned massively.

From ear to ear.

“What can I say? I have a golden tongue.”

Victoria hesitated.

“You mean silver tongue.”

Chloe just shook her head.

“Nah, mine’s better than silver. It’s golden.”

Victoria hesitated again, before groaning viciously and shaking her head.

She closed her eyes.

“You are _such_ a fucking dork.”

But she was smiling, gently.

Chloe laughed.

“Hey, fuck you too. I just got us the ship. Be a little appreciative.”

Despite the content of her words, the tone was more playful.

Victoria opened her eyes and forced her way past Chloe.

“Oh I’ll give _you_ appreciative. When this is over with.”

Chloe couldn’t tell if Victoria was actually being playful in response.

Or if she was just hallucinating.

Either way, Chloe followed her.

Onto the ship.

 

Surprisingly, it wasn’t even locked.

It was a very small ship.

Hardly more than a corridor.

The cockpit had seating for two, though.

It was enough.

 

Chloe sat down on the pilot’s seat.

She examined the console and all the flight equipment.

Victoria crossed her arms and rested them on the co-pilot’s seat.

She looked to Chloe.

“You can fly this thing, right?”

Chloe nodded.

“Duh. Where we going?”

Victoria hesitated.

“Alderaan.”

Chloe looked up from the controls to peer at Victoria.

“Why the hell would we go there? There’s nothing but stuffy politicians and ---“

“Chloe.”

Chloe frowned, but allowed Victoria to continue.

“My name is Victoria. Organa. Daughter of Bail Organa.”

Victoria sighed.

“I’m a princess. That’s my home.”

Chloe went quiet for a while longer, still.

Is that why that bug wanted her?

“Alderaan it is, then.”

Chloe’s voice came out a little drained.

Victoria frowned, and sat down on the co-pilot’s seat, while Chloe went to starting up the ship.

“Please don’t make a big deal out of this.”

Chloe sighed herself, and stopped to look at Victoria again.

“Not gonna. Just thinking. It explains some things.”

Chloe couldn’t help the slight playfulness that seeped into her voice.

Victoria smiled, despite it all.

“Hey, fuck you too.”

But then she looked forward.

“But thanks. For everything.”

The ship suddenly hummed to life.

“Score.”

Victoria peered at her.

Chloe cleared her throat.

“Um. I meant to do that.”

 

Chloe did manage to get the ship to take off, and to start their voyage towards Alderaan.

This ship wasn’t really designed for a lot of long space travel.

It was designed more for infiltration on planet surfaces, and jumping to adjacent planets.

But it would have to do.

 

“So. Who’s Max?”

Victoria started, suddenly, while they were staring at the bunch of nothing of space outside the cockpit.

Chloe frowned and gave her a sidelong look.

“The fuck do you know that name?”

Victoria sighed.

“Because you talk in your sleep. He a boyfriend of yours or ---“

Chloe shook her head.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Oh.”

Quiet.

It was awkward.

Now they were literally stuck in a box together.

That wasn’t helping.

“Is it because I made fun of you earlier because ---“

“Yes.”

Chloe exhaled slowly.

“And some other stuff. It’s complicated.”

Victoria closed her eyes and relaxed back into the stiff seat of the co-pilot’s chair.

The stillness dragged on, but.

At least it felt a bit less awkward the longer it was.

After what felt like hours,

“When I was younger, I met this … boy.”

There Victoria was with her quiet, thoughtful voice, again.

Chloe looked to her again.

“Whatever you’ve heard being a princess is like, it’s bullshit. It’s boring. Political.”

Victoria inhaled and exhaled loudly.

“If it wasn’t for him, I probably would have gone insane out of boredom.”

But then she frowned.

“I liked him. A lot.”

She shook her head.

“I’m so fucking stupid, though. I never told him.”

Quiet.

“And now, he might be … dead, or … who knows what.”

Chloe was speechless.

She didn’t know what to say in response to all of that.

Victoria was hugging at herself, and looking down.

Maybe on the verge of crying.

Eventually,

“So I just --- you know --- _never mind_. It’s … stupid.”

Victoria huffed.

But it was too late, this time.

Chloe had already seen the illusion shattered.

She looked forward, away from Victoria.

“It’s okay.”

Chloe said, finally.

More quiet.

But it felt less awkward, still.

“You gotta find your boy. I gotta find my girl.”

Victoria blinked.

“Max is a girl?”

Chloe nodded.

“And I’m fucking stupid too. She doesn’t know how I feel about her, either.”

Victoria smiled sadly.

“Hey.”

Chloe looked sidelong to her again,

“Yeah?”

“Promise me something?”

“Yeah?”

Victoria breathed in deeply.

“If we see him. Again. Promise me you’ll kick my ass until I tell him.”

Chloe looked forward.

“If only you’ll promise to do the same for me.”

Victoria laughed.

“Deal.”

“Deal.”

Chloe hesitated,

“Pinkie swear?”

Victoria groaned.

“Such a dork.”

Chloe laughed.

“Hey. Fuck you too.”

Victoria stood up, suddenly.

“I’m going to see if our _friend_ left anything of value on the ship.”

She hesitated,

“Nice talk.”

Chloe sighed.

“Okay. Yeah.”

Chloe hesitated, too.

“Nice talk.”

 

Now that there was the stillness, and her life was no longer in danger, Chloe had to think.

About Max.

About her powers.

About what it all meant.

Maybe Alderaan would have some answers for her.

Somehow.

It was better than nothing.

Slightly.


	2. Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe shouts at Victoria.
> 
> Palpatine learns some interesting news.
> 
> Something goes right in Chloe's life, for once.
> 
> It probably won't last.

Chloe stared at Max.

Last night was so much fun.

She was kind of tired all throughout yesterday.

But that was okay.

Max had a right to be tired for what she did.

And now, she deserved the right to rest as long as she wanted.

It didn’t stop Chloe from staring, though.

 

Eventually, Max stirred.

She was visibly surprised when she opened her eyes and saw Chloe just staring at her.

She blinked.

“Mmmm-hh. You’re staring.”

She frowned a little bit.

“There’s a lot to stare at.”

Chloe said in response, and tried to modulate her voice as low and seductive as she could make it.

She tried to sell it with a little eyebrow wiggle too.

Max groaned and looked away.

“Can’t you keep it in your pants for five seconds?”

_Shit._

Max sounded pissed.

Maybe she should have been.

Chloe’s eyes widened.

“Max I ---“

Max looked over to Chloe, and the frown only became more severe.

“You _what?_ ”

“I …”

Chloe closed her eyes and breathed in deep,

“Sorry, I guess. I just really like you a lot, you know.”

Max scoffed and shook her head.

“Someone who likes me wouldn’t force me to go find a cure for them.”

_Fucking ow._

Chloe flinched.

But she deserved that.

She slowly raised a hand up to rub at the back of her own neck.

“Yeah … I guess …”

Max sat up, then stood up.

She crossed her arms, and sighed.

She was facing away from the bed, and hunched over, slightly.

Chloe couldn’t see her face.

“This is all your fault. I’m leaving. Please don’t follow.”

Chloe blinked again and shot up from her bed.

“Wait, Max, C’mon, I didn’t mean ---“

Max turned around.

Chloe’s words just left her and refused to come back when she saw Max’s eyes corrupted into a vicious, fire-y yellow.

“You did this to me.”

She raised a hand up, and Chloe’s body was compelled against one of the walls of her room.

Quite hard.

_Ow._

She had the wind knocked out of her, but couldn’t move.

“You did this to me.”

Max repeated, her voice becoming more unbalanced and louder.

“You did this to me!”

Chloe felt like her body was being crushed alive.

She still couldn’t move an inch.

“Max …”

And her words came out weak, and unconvincing.

“Max …”

 

“Chloe. Chloe. Ugh. Wake up.”

Chloe blinked her eyes open.

And shot up rigid in her seat with a gasp.

She felt cold and hugged at herself.

She looked at her surroundings, but her eyes were unbelieving of what she saw.

A ship.

With another woman.

Victoria.

Her mind eventually offered.

She looked ever-so-slightly troubled.

Chloe tried to steady her breathing.

She then just sighed.

That damn nightmare.

It felt so _real_.

It always did.

“I’m up.”

Victoria was quiet again.

She looked out to into the infinite space before back to Chloe.

“You were mumbling about Max again.”

Quiet, thoughtful.

It gave Chloe pause.

She slumped back in her seat and groaned softly.

“It was … a nightmare. It’s bullshit. Don’t worry.”

Victoria frowned.

“You have it every single time you fall asleep.”

Chloe frowned, too.

“Yeah … I guess it’s what I deserve.”

Victoria opened her mouth to say something –

Chloe stood up, suddenly, and started walking down the corridor.

“Is there a bathroom somewhere in here?”

“It’s one of the like two doors on this stupid little box. Guess which.”

Chloe grumbled.

She wasn’t feeling very playful to work with Victoria’s banter, right now.

 

The bathroom had a sink.

The cold water felt nice on her face.

She walked back to the pilot’s seat, rubbing her face with both hands the entire way there.

 

“Something’s clearly happened between you and Max.”

Victoria said, suddenly, as she was wont to do.

Chloe remained silent as she sat down on her seat.

She didn’t offer any response.

Victoria never liked the awkward silence, and she liked it even less when Chloe was the one ignoring her.

She shifted around uncomfortably.

“Are you just going to ---“

Chloe snapped her head to look at Victoria, harshly.

“I turned her into a Sith, alright?”

Her voice was raised.

Annoyed.

Victoria blinked, bit her lip, and went quiet.

Chloe huffed and looked back forward.

“She was fucking perfect and I ruined her.”

Chloe breathed in deeply,

“So yeah. Something happened. Me.”

Victoria pursed her lips into a fine line.

There was more quiet, here, but Chloe liked the quiet, this time.

Since it meant Victoria wasn’t continuing to question her about topics she really wasn’t comfortable with.

Eventually,

“You don’t mean that.”

Victoria ventured.

Chloe looked sidelong to her.

At least some of the anger had left her in the quiet period.

“What do you mean?”

Victoria sighed.

“If you truly thought you ruined her, you wouldn’t be motivated to find her.”

Chloe looked forward again.

“Maybe I’m not. We were together when we were captured. Logically, she should be on that ship. But did I look for her? No.”

Victoria groaned and raised a hand up to rub at her temples.

“Chloe. Looking for her would have been impossible in there. You know that.”

Chloe was quiet for a while.

“Maybe I do.”

But Victoria finally got the sense that Chloe was not in the mood to be rational about the subject, and allowed the thought to just die off.

She was still going to honor that promise made, earlier.

One way or another.

\---

“Bail! So nice of you to join me.”

Max was staring out the window of Palpatine’s office.

At the sky cars.

There were less of them, these days.

She didn’t realize she was going to miss them.

“Palpatine …”

Palpatine had been dragging all manner of Senators into his office the past few hours.

Trying to soothe over the wildfire his recent actions had created.

This most recent one, Bail, didn’t sound like he was nearly as comfortable with Palpatine as the others were.

Still, Max heard him take a seat all the same.

She also heard him shift around uncomfortably, in it.

“I’m so sorry to hear about your daughter. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get an authorization of force in time to save her.”

She heard this Bail person hum flatly.

“I thank you for your well-wishing. It’s been hard on us. But don’t you try and politicize this.”

She heard him hesitate, before directing his voice in Max’s direction.

“Who’s this?”

It was Palpatine’s turn to hum flatly.

“This a dear of mine. Lieutenant Vix.”

Vix wasn’t her real name.

But her old name didn’t feel as right anymore.

That person was dead.

Vix turned around to face Palpatine’s guest.

She kept her hands crossed behind her back.

“Don’t mind me, Senator. I don’t involve myself with politics.”

Bail made an amused exhale.

“And yet you befriend _him_?”

He looked to Palpatine.

“Your friends have a strange sense of humor.”

Palpatine just chuckled warmly.

“Come now. I felt it was appropriate. Vix is a war hero, you know. She was on the same planet your daughter was during the invasion.”

Bail’s face scrunched up a little bit.

“War hero? The one who assaulted six of their ships?”

Palpatine just nodded.

“That’s the one.”

Bail looked to her again, and tried to soften his face.

“I thought she was a Jedi.”

Vix exhaled.

She had taken to wearing her suit of black trooper armor constantly.

Especially the helmet.

It kept people from seeing her eyes.

“I was. Before the Jedi betrayed the republic. And me.”

The flatness of her voice caught him off guard.

Eventually,

“I see.”

There was quiet for a few moments.

Vix took it upon herself to continue.

“Sorry to hear about your loss. I did what I could.”

Bail blinked, then shook his head.

“No you --- don’t _you_ feel sorry. You did good. More than anyone else.”

Bail just sighed.

“We’re still holding out hope. Perhaps they will ransom her.”

Palpatine sighed himself, more wearily.

“I’m not sure those creatures understand such a concept.”

Bail’s face scrunched up again.

But then he just shook his head.

“I didn’t come here to talk about my daughter, anyway. I came here to talk to _you_ about _your_ actions, Palpatine. The people of my planet are _outraged_ at your war-mongering.”

Vix frowned.

Politics.

She turned around again and watched the sky cars zoom by.

What few remained, anyway.

She tuned out their conversation.

 

She was about to zone out entirely when, suddenly, something beeped in the room.

She heard someone standing up, out of their seat.

“This is not a good time – I’m in the middle of ---“

“ ** _What_**?”

Bail’s voice. His tone was so unusual that Vix looked back to the two of them.

Bail had stood up and was talking into his ear piece, with his arms crossed.

“Yes-yes-yes. Of course I’ll come. Give me just a little bit of time.”

Bail breathed in deeply.

“So much for the ransom. My daughter just returned to Aldeeran with a stranger. I guess they escaped.”

“What?”

Vix briefly looked to Palpatine.

Those unfamiliar with him probably wouldn’t have noticed the slight change in his tone.

Something was upsetting him.

“Yeah I know, it’s hard to believe, right?”

Vix turned around entirely.

“She escaped with a stranger?”

Bail looked to Vix.

Of course, his expression was quite cheerful right now.

“A woman. She flew the ship they used to escape. That’s all I know.”

“Well, Bail, this is quite good news, we should ---“

Vix was overwhelmed with a memory.

\---

Max and Chloe.

Sitting in the cockpit of the abandoned ship.

In the deep middle of their forest.

Chloe imitated engine sounds as she playfully tugged at the steering wheel of the ship.

Max aimlessly pressed random buttons.

“Oh no! The republic fleet! They’ve caught up to us!”

Chloe started suddenly, her voice thick with worry.

She looked to Max.

“We can’t out maneuver them! Quick! Fire the ultra-mega-super death canon!”

Max hazily saluted,

“Aye aye! Firing!”

Dramatically, she pressed another useless button, and imitated the sound of the most scary-sounding weapon she could think of.

“Boom!”

“Yeah! Kickass! We won!”

They exploded into useless giggles.

Only after they calmed down,

“Hey Max?”

Max looked sidelong to her,

“Yeah Clo?”

Chloe grinned toothily.

“My dad’s training me to fly these things for real. I’m going to be serious hot stuff.”

Max gasped.

“Nu-uh! No way! You’re fibbing!”

Chloe’s grin became enormous and all-consuming.

“Yea-huh! I’m going to be the best space pilot in the entire galaxy!”

Chloe sighed dreamily.

“Just like my dad.”

But, that devious grin came right back.

“So I’m captain _always and forever,_ from now on!”

Max groaned.

“Chloe! That’s no fair!”

\---

“Alderaan is fucking cold.”

Chloe exhaled uneasily as they left their dinky ship and made it out into the landing pad.

Victoria shrugged.

“Snow will do that.”

She then hummed thoughtfully.

“I’m not cold at all.”

Chloe just rolled her eyes.

“Because you’re a fucking yeti, apparently.”

Victoria made an amused exhale.

“Jealousy is such an ugly color on you, Chloe.”

Chloe groaned.

They continued walking.

They had landed on a landing pad just outside of the palace.

It was nominally for royal duties.

But this was something of an exceptional circumstance.

The palace looked massive from out here.

She wondered how big it was from the inside.

 

When they were just shy of the entrance, the doors burst open and a lively bunch of people started to eagerly make their way to the two.

Victoria suddenly gasped.

“That’s him.”

Chloe looked to the group but there were like 20 dudes in there and Victoria was not being helpful in determining which and ---

“With the robes.”

Victoria inhaled sharply, and turned to face Chloe.

“How do I look? I need to look good or ---“

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“You look like a slave that just got dragged through a swamp.”

She smiled.

“So probably no worse than usual.”

Victoria groaned severely and smacked Chloe on the shoulder.

“I’m being serious.”

But they didn’t have too long to squabble amongst themselves.

Soon the party was within ear shot.

And there was only one person who stood apart from the group.

A man with a bold chin.

Light brown hair.

Calm, blue eyes.

A long, flowing set of robes.

He was looking directly at Victoria.

And she was looking directly at him.

Chloe crossed her arms.

“Nathan!”

Victoria’s voice sounded different, now.

It wasn’t the usual harsh tone she used with Chloe.

It was closer to that gentle, thoughtful one, that Chloe liked hearing.

The robed figure – apparently Nathan – stretched his arms out.

“Vic.”

He smiled warmly.

“I can’t believe it --- you’re alive.”

Victoria laughed nervously.

“I – I can’t believe it either. So are you.”

Quiet.

No one moved.

The two idiots just stared contently at one another.

Chloe sighed and none-too-subtly shoved Victoria towards Nathan.

Victoria shrieked for all of a second before clearing her throat.

Now, they got a bit closer to one another.

They took each other’s hands and interlocked their fingers.

“How did you get back?”

Victoria started.

Nathan closed his eyes and exhaled quietly.

“I only pretended to be knocked out. I meditated until the force told me when to escape.”

Chloe had largely been tuning out their exchange, but her ears perked when she heard ‘the force’.

She studied Nathan a second time.

If Chloe thought about it, the robes were like how she _imagined_ a Jedi to look like, before Max went and shattered that illusion.

Long, flowing, earthen tones, neutral colors.

But she didn’t see a lightsaber anywhere on his person.

Was he a Jedi?

Did he like to hide his weapon like Max did?

Nathan sighed.

“But my opportunity was too late to save you. They took us to different places.”

He then just shook his head, and softly smiled.

“That’s all in the past, now, though. You’re here --- I can still hardly believe it.”

He looked past Victoria to Chloe,

“I suppose I have you to thank for this?”

Victoria looked back, too, with a frown.

Chloe shrugged, and leaned more on one of her legs than the other.

“We escaped together. Your girl’s not exactly helpless in a fight.”

Victoria’s eyes widened and her mouth gaped for a second or two, before she had the presence of mind to hide it.

Victoria and Nathan looked to one another again.

Nathan chuckled softly.

“You’re right. She isn’t.”

Quiet again.

Victoria looked like she was _this_ close to saying something.

Chloe very carefully repressed the part of her telling her how familiar this exchange felt.

Since they were content to just stare longingly at one another, Chloe decided to walk up behind Victoria and pat at her shoulder once.

“Listen, I’m going to _actually_ freeze my tits off out here. Can we go inside?”

Victoria almost jumped at the provocation.

After a second to calm herself down, she cleared her throat and shook her head.

“Right. We should um, probably get dressed properly, too.”

Nathan nodded, and broke away from Victoria.

Everyone started to walk back into the castle.

“Vic, there’s … been a lot of things happening in the month or so you were gone.”

Both Chloe and Victoria gasped in unison.

“Month!?”

Victoria caught up to Nathan to walk along side him.

Chloe decided to walk near the two, behind them.

She was interested in this conversation, too.

Nathan nodded carefully.

“Month. And some change.”

He frowned, and crossed his arms.

“We thought you were dead, or … who knows what else. We were fearing the worst.”

He shook his head.

“But, that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. On Coruscant, Palpatine has been making obscene grabs for power, using these invasions as an excuse.”

Victoria frowned and scoffed.

“Palpatine! That pig.”

Nathan nodded.

“He’s all but disbanded the Jedi Order, now.”

They entered the palace, proper.

As large as it looked from the outside, it seemed even more vacuous from the inside.

They had entered the massive grand hall.

The structure was so immense, Chloe swore she could see fog before either the roof, or the far side of the building.

The style of the interior was elegant and curved, with more earthen tones abound.

Several flowing cloth decorations hung from the ceiling, and between the massive supporting pillars.

The scene was so impressive.

“--- purged. All we know now is that council is stacked full of people who will do anything he says.”

Chloe realized she’d lost her place in the conversation.

But she wasn’t going to make a fool of herself in front of all these people.

Instead, she’d just make a fool of herself to Victoria, later, after asking her for a recap.

The party stopped moving when they reached a large rug, stretching all of the way from one side of the room to the other.

Chloe guessed this probably led straight to the throne room.

By now, the group was starting to disband, with Victoria making pleasant exchanges with all of the well-wishers and happy bystanders.

It felt like hours until it was just the three of them standing there.

At least it wasn’t freezing cold in here.

Victoria sighed.

“So eventful. I guess I picked a fun time to get captured.”

Nathan sighed, too.

“Yeah.”

They smiled at one another and went quiet again.

Chloe placed a hand on her face and forcefully dragged it down.

When it reached her side, she breathed in deep, and walked adjacent to the two.

“Hey – Nathan, is it?”

Nathan turned to her and nodded,

“Victoria’s got something to tell you. Isn’t that right?”

Chloe looked expectantly at Victoria and crossed her arms.

Victoria bit her lip and hugged at herself.

She looked down to the floor.

But then she nodded, and looked back up.

“Nathan, I …”

Nathan’s face became troubled.

“What is it?”

But her words didn’t come.

Eventually, he started to guess, since she was being useless.

“Is there more danger to come? Do you know something about what Palpatine is scheming?”

Victoria sighed uselessly,

“No, nothing like that, I just …”

Chloe shook her head.

This was hopeless.

“She’s goo-goo ga-ga for you, Nathan. Head over heels. Punch drunk in love.”

He blinked, and gave Chloe a harsh look, before looking back to Victoria.

“Is this true?”

Victoria blushed, and sighed again.

“Yes.”

Nathan hesitated, then smiled warmly.

“Oh, Vic.”

They got close again, and hugged.

Chloe groaned and turned around.

“I’ll just be over here … vomiting forever … trying not to freeze to death … in some pit somewhere … Don’t worry about me or nothin’ …”

They made wet noises.

Chloe shuddered and closed her eyes.

She couldn’t help but think about Max, again.

And if she’d end up as spineless as Victoria, when the time came to it.

Did she even _want_ to tell Max?

Max would probably just think this was being emotionally manipulative, or something.

To go along with the actual abusive manipulating Chloe did, earlier.

She sighed wearily.

 

Sometime later, Victoria came up behind her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

Chloe shook it off and turned around.

Victoria’s face was entirely consumed by blush, and she was still hugging at herself and looking downwards.

But she was smiling like an idiot.

“Hey, look… thanks.”

And her voice was that thoughtful one.

Chloe shrugged.

“I promised I’d help you. And you’re useless around him, so I had to do it myself.”

Victoria laughed nervously.

“Yeah, um… a little bit.”

Chloe looked around.

Nathan was gone.

“So, you two a thing now?”

Victoria smiled wider.

She exhaled dreamily, and looked up to look Chloe in the eyes.

“Yeah. We kissed and ---”

Chloe raised her hands up defensively,

“Ah-ah-ah. Don’t need the gross deets.”

Victoria just smiled a bit wider.

“You are such a dork, I can’t even believe it.”

Victoria closed her eyes, breathed in sharply, and steeled her face somewhat.

“Come on. We should get some better clothes. My parents will want to meet you.”

This voice was more familiar.

It had more confidence in it, and every word felt planned and carefully articulated.

Chloe wondered how much of this was just an act.

Or if the soft side of her was the unusual parts.

Still.

Chloe followed her.

Since she was _still_ fucking cold and wasn’t a goddamn yeti like everyone else on this planet apparently was.

 

Chloe carefully stood outside of the entrance to the throne room.

She was waiting for Victoria to meet up with her.

And waiting.

And waiting some more.

Chloe frowned and tapped her foot impatiently.

The stylist _wanted_ to do something crazy with her hair, drown her face in makeup, and put on some ridiculous dress.

Chloe wanted none of that.

Despite the stylist’s protest, Chloe just got cleaned up, and then put on a lighter suit of armor.

Finally, Victoria walked out of one of the myriad of hallways and stopped short of Chloe.

Chloe was speechless again.

This time, because Victoria was drop-dead gorgeous when she had the time to properly gussy up.

Her face looked flawlessly beautiful.

Like every inch of it was coordinated to look just so.

Even the contours of her cheeks, and the way her hair was styled to flow.

But the staring must have been obvious, because Victoria just groaned.

“Be less gay for five seconds, please.”

Chloe shook her head and crossed her arms.

She tried not to notice the blush on her own face.

“I’m um. Yeah. You … you look nice.”

_Smooth._

Still, Victoria’s mouth creased up in amusement.

“And _you_ – you look like a commoner. You can’t meet the queen like _that_.”

Chloe scoffed.

At least this change in subject was easier to talk about.

“Hey, fuck you too. I’m wearing the _one_ fuckin’ thing this entire palace has that’s _both_ warm and practical.”

Victoria rolled her eyes.

“ _Practical_ , huh. We’re going to meet the Queen, not fight a war.”

Chloe huffed.

“I’m not – _not_ – wearing a dress.”

Victoria just sighed wearily and rubbed at her temples.

“Alright-fine-whatever. Your first impression, not mine.”

Chloe now smiled.

“I’m glad we came to an agreement, then.”

Victoria just shook her head.

She then steeled her face, breathed in deep, and straightened up her posture.

She brought her hands down to her belly.

She faced towards the door.

“Take my arm. After me.”

Chloe blinked.

“Um. What?”

Victoria frowned, and looked sidelong at her.

“Put your arm. Through my arm. Then walk along side me.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow.

“You just told me to be _less_ gay, now you’re ---“

Victoria blushed furiously and snapped her face to the side to look at Chloe.

“It’s not --- you don’t --- _ugh_!”

She was flustered beyond her words.

Chloe would have to remember to tease Victoria about this more often.

Eventually,

“It’s not a --- _that_ \--- it’s a custom.”

Chloe was grinning stupidly since annoying Victoria was kind of fun.

But this wasn’t too productive.

She waved a hand vaguely.

“I’m an outsider. I’m sure they’ll understand if I’m … _uncouth_.”

Victoria looked forward, again.

“Yeah. Whatever.”

 

Despite all of the pretense Victoria was adding, Chloe didn’t feel too intimidated when she walked along side into the throne room.

Just like everything else, the room was scaled at an inconceivable degree.

This room was at least more lively, with the numerous guards lining the rug that ran the length of the room.

The guards came to attention as she and the princess walked past them.

They stopped short of the throne’s platform.

It was raised, of course.

The queen sat in one of the two thrones, dressed immaculately.

Like her daughter, her face was a thing of perfection.

But unlike her daughter, she was more open with her smiles.

And she smiled warmly as the two came to stop.

“Ahh. My vee.”

The queen looked to Victoria, then to Chloe.

Her expression didn’t change.

“And – you must be the one who rescued her?”

“I ---“

“--- We escaped, together, as equals. No one ‘rescued’ me.”

Victoria interrupted, vaguely irritated.

Chloe wondered if there was a pattern here.

The queen just chuckled gently and looked to her daughter.

“Of course, dear.”

She looked back to Chloe.

Her expression became more somber.

“We were expecting to pay a ransom for her.”

She waved one of her hands from her chest to the far side of her body,

“I would be more than glad to pay out some of it to you for your troubles.”

Chloe blinked.

She didn’t know what to say to that.

Her family had always been borderline poor, and a ransom sum for a princess was likely princely.

“I um – _wow_ , that sounds, _great_ , you’re um, queenie --- highness.”

Victoria was giving Chloe a mighty serious death stare.

But the queen just chuckled gently again.

“You’ve always a place at our home, as well. A friend of my daughter is a friend of mine.”

Chloe nodded eagerly.

“Yeah, of course! Thanks so much – I don’t … I don’t even know what to say, really.”

The queen still smiled.

 

Afterwards, when they left the throne room, Victoria smacked Chloe on the shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?”

Chloe frowned, and rubbed at the spot.

Even through her armor, that smarted.

“What the fuck happened to your ‘golden tongue’? You were like a jester out there.”

Chloe frowned, and crossed her arms.

But then she just sighed softly.

“I’ve never had … money.”

Victoria flinched, and went quiet herself.

Her expression softened considerably.

“Oh.”

As did her voice.

“Yeah.”

Chloe breathed the word out like a sigh.

“I mean, it might be enough to buy a ship, and then I …”

Chloe went quiet, and walked a few steps away from Victoria.

It was a few moments before,

“You’re thinking of trying to find her.”

Chloe laughed softly.

“Am I that obvious? No, I don’t … I don’t know.”

She turned to face Victoria.

Victoria’s face was troubled in subtle ways.

“My entire life, I’ve been dreaming of owning a real ship I can be proud of.”

She frowned.

Her voice got this dumb wistful edge to it that she hated.

“My dad and I were trying to save up money. I was going to see the galaxy, and become a famous pilot.”

She closed her eyes.

“But my dad is gone, now.”

Victoria pursed her lips, though not that Chloe could see it.

She walked close to her, and kept her voice gentle.

“I didn’t know.”

Chloe opened her eyes, and sighed.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t want you to know.”

Victoria frowned, but Chloe continued,

“Look, I don’t want your pity. I never did. I hate it when people change how they treat me when they learn this shit.”

Victoria didn’t really know what to say in response, and Chloe could see it from that hesitation.

She was thinking of saying something, again.

Chloe turned around and started to walk, again.

She wasn’t going to wait for Victoria to eventually build up the courage to say whatever it is she wanted to say.

She didn’t have to, anymore.

“This planet is too cold and the people on it are too stuffy. I’m going to go find a ship I like and fuck off. See the galaxy and all.”

She only made it a few steps before,

“Hey.”

Victoria’s voice.

Chloe looked back.

“Yeah?”

Victoria hesitated, but then just breathed in deep and puffed her chest out,

“Visit sometime, okay?”

Chloe made an amused exhale and turned around.

“I thought you hated me.”

Victoria nodded.

“It’s a _friendly_ kind of hate.”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

Victoria continued,

“And … I’m lonely, sometimes, here.”

Chloe blinked, and opened her mouth to say something, but ---

“--- Not in _that_ way. Just …”

Victoria sighed and rubbed at her temples.

“I don’t have very many people I can relate to around here. And no one that I can trust with my … issues.”

Chloe was speechless again.

“So just like, I don’t know. Once a week? Once a month? Just pop by. It’d mean something to me. You’ve been … useful. And … stuff.”

Chloe _was_ speechless, but.

Then she had a thought.

And it made her smile.

“Are you coming onto me, Vic?”

Victoria blushed furiously.

But she was smiling.

“You’re fucking impossible sometimes.”

Chloe laughed.

“Hey, fuck you too.”


	3. Traitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vix deals with a Traitor.
> 
> Victoria kicks Chloe's ass.
> 
> Chloe hates sand.
> 
> Chloe meets someone in an unfortunate, uncomfortable place.

The shuttle jostled.

Vix grunted.

She banged on the door leading into the shuttle’s cockpit.

“ETA five minutes, ma’am.”

She looked back to her troops.

About a dozen of the most lethal and effective troops the empire has ever known.

The immortals.

Named such for never having a confirmed death.

Vix cleared her throat.

“Listen up. Five minutes, then we’re landing hot.”

The various troopers, some sitting, some strapped, some standing loose, all looked to her.

“We’re landing on an Imperial mining facility. Some of the troopers there have revolted.”

She crossed her arms.

“We’re going to find their leader and show them the error of their ways.”

 

It wasn’t long before the shuttle landed, and they walked calmly down the ramp leading out.

This was an older facility, and there was only the one landing pad in, or out.

As soon as they started exiting, troopers started to poke out from every conceivable hiding spot.

Vix and her squad were surrounded.

They had to be outnumbered three or four or five to one, with no cover.

But this didn’t cause alarm in any of the squad.

These were the odds they were used to working with.

Vix’s troopers raised their own weapons.

But Vix just raised her hand.

Her troopers put their weapons down.

The rest of the revolting troopers looked amongst themselves, confused.

One of them fired directly at Vix.

But the shot went wild, straight up.

They were immortal for a reason.

“Bring your leader here. We must talk.”

Usually, these confrontations could be resolved peacefully.

Some of the revolting troopers lowered their weapons.

Others murmured amongst themselves.

Vix crossed her arms and waited patiently.

Eventually, one trooper stepped out from behind cover.

The colored pauldron on his shoulder indicated his rank above the others.

But this was no officer.

He walked directly in front of Vix, and stopped there, weapon lowered.

He wasn’t wearing his helmet.

Vix frowned when she could make out his face.

She knew who this was.

Warren.

“We’re not here to talk, captain.”

He said it as forcefully as he could.

His face became harsh.

Vix hummed flatly.

“We are _so close_ to true peace in the galaxy. The empire cannot let you threaten that with your revolts.”

Warren extended his arms to either side of his body, and frowned.

“True peace is not worth what the empire is doing.”

He lowered his hands.

“If the rumors are true, we will soon have a superweapon that can kill billions in the blink of an eye.”

He sighed, and closed his eyes.

“We can’t stand for that. That’s not peace.”

Vix hesitated.

She sympathized with the reasoning.

But she knew better, now.

Palpatine had explained this process thoroughly to her.

It would never be used to kill like _that_.

Just to intimidate, and to keep quarrelsome forces in line.

At the most, to eliminate some troublesome rebel strong holds.

Carefully, she raised a hand up, and took off her helmet.

Very few people saw her face.

Even fewer lived to tell about it.

Warren’s jaw dropped.

“Max …”

She kept her helmet in her hand, and frowned.

“Enough, Warren. The Death Star _will_ be our instrument of true peace. The rebels will surrender overnight when it is completed. No one will challenge our authority.”

His face was troubled in a million different ways.

But all he could manage was,

“No. No it won’t. Can’t you see, Max? We can’t keep fighting fire with fire.”

But all the confidence and bravado had been sapped out of his voice.

Vix breathed in deeply, and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, Warren flinched.

As did most of the other troopers who could see her.

“I’m sorry, Warren. I’ve spent my whole life working towards this.”

She raised her hand up.

“Be one with the force.”

She used one of Palpatine’s signature techniques.

A horrifying combination of a force blast and lightening.

It wasn’t lightening as nature knew it, as it was controlled by the force.

The blast was tremendously painful, usually lethal.

Warren was compelled back, and shouted in agony as he went.

By the time he hit the far wall of the compound, she knew he was dead.

Some of the other revolting troopers had started to fire on her.

But all their shots wouldn’t hit their mark.

The rest were deeply fearful and horrified of the display, and began to run.

Exactly as intended.

Vix put her helmet back on.

“Weapons off stun. The Emperor demands death for traitors.”

The empire did not need soldiers who weren’t willing to go the last mile to see true peace.

\---

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Chloe groaned and kicked off the sheets covering her body.

She slowly sat up.

She looked to the source of the interruption.

She frowned.

Carelessly, she flicked one of the buttons on the nearby panel, and scooted over so that she could rest her feet on the floor.

And lean over.

“Hit me.”

The person on the other end of the line sighed.

“Chloe.”

Chloe looked up, but this wasn’t a holocall, and the source of the noise was coming from behind her, anyway.

“Victoria.”

Quiet.

“Did you find her, yet?”

Chloe groaned again.

“You have such a one-track mind.”

Victoria scoffed. 

“So that’s a no.”

Chloe exhaled, and looked down to the floor.

“That’s a no.”

Quiet.

“Are you looking?”

Chloe frowned.

“What kind of question is that?”

Victoria hesitated.

“ _Chloe_.”

Chloe grunted.

“Kind of.”

Quiet.

Victoria sighed loudly.

“It’s been a year.”

Chloe nodded.

“Four-hundred and twenty-six days. But who’s counting?”

Victoria gave an amused exhale.

Chloe continued,

“You know what I’ve been doing, Vic.”

Quiet.

“Busting up slaving ships?”

Chloe nodded.

“Busting up slaving ships. I’m getting real good at it.”

Victoria hesitated.

“Are you still having nightmares?”

Chloe slumped forward a bit more.

“Chloe.”

Chloe groaned.

“Sometimes.”

Victoria sighed, exasperated.

“You’re slowly killing yourself like this.”

Chloe grunted.

“Did you just call me to give me this lecture again? ‘Cuz I have other things I can be doing right now.”

Quiet.

“No.”

Chloe looked up.

“Then I’m listening. What’s up?”

“Thankfully for you, I _am_ looking for her. And I think I have a break.”

Chloe frowned.

“I didn’t _ask_ you to look for her.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Chloe looked up to the ceiling and went quiet.

“Do you want the information, or not?”

Chloe looked back down to the floor.

“Alright. Hit me.”

“One of my dad’s old friends recently contacted him. Guy by the name of Obi-wan Kenobi. Ring any bells?”

Chloe thought about it.

“No.”

Victoria hummed flatly.

“Hmm, well. I did some digging. Obi-wan was one of a few Jedi that were training Padawan to be Knights on Coruscant. Before the Order was disbanded, anyway.”

Chloe sighed dreamily.

“Where Max was.”

“Exactly. If he didn’t know her personally, chances are good he’ll know someone who did.”

Chloe thought about it some more.

“Would he talk to me? I have to imagine he’s pretty secretive about his Jedi stuff these days.”

“That’s where I come in. My dad has a favor to ask of him, and he wanted me to do it, for some dumb reason. I want you to go in my place.”

Chloe hummed thoughtfully.

“He’ll talk to you if you mention my dad’s name. You’ll deliver the message, and then you’ll have the best possible opening to talk to him about Max.”

Chloe kept quiet.

Considering.

“You’re not going to get an opportunity like this again.”

Chloe sighed wearily.

“I know, I know. I just … I don’t even know if she’ll want to meet me again.”

Victoria scoffed.

“You’re dumb. Take the offer. Stop being a baby. Get your girl.”

Chloe grunted.

“Real charmer, aren’t ya’.”

But then, she just sighed.

“Alright. I’ll do it.”

She hesitated.

“Thanks, Vic.”

 

After finishing waking up, Chloe made her way to her ship’s cockpit, and then the navigational computer.

She pulled up an interstellar map.

Filled with tons of little indications and markings.

Ships she’d already hit.

Ships she planned to hit next.

Operations to disrupt.

She’d been making a name for herself out here in the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

Where not even the Empire had much meaning or value.

Cognitively, she knew that there was a next to zero chance of finding Max or her parents this way.

But.

She had to do _something._

Something so that she could tell herself she was trying.

And that she hadn’t given up.

Her ability to rewind short periods of time just ensured her flawless execution.

Chloe still didn’t know why the universe decided to give her this ability.

But she was going to use it to make the universe just that much less shitty of a place.

In her own, small way.

\---

Sand.

This Jedi bastard was held up on a sand planet.

Chloe frowned.

She already didn’t like him, if only because he decided to live here.

Chloe hated sand.

It was rough, and irritating.

But at least the warmth was comforting.

Better than the cold of Alderaan.

Chloe made her way out of the space port and into a Bazaar.

So many creatures.

So many colors.

So many smells, and sights.

But she wasn’t here to be more cultured.

She largely ignored the crowds and the hustle and bustle.

She quietly made her way through, until the crowds eventually petered off.

She was to meet this Obi-wan in a bar.

After double-checking she had the right place, she entered said bar.

And frowned again.

This smell.

This smell she wasn’t going to forget.

Awful and putrid.

This stench was from illegal drugs.

Most of which were entirely toxic to humans.

Which is probably why it smelled as bad as it did.

Chloe knew this bar probably wasn’t on the up-and-up.

The distrustful sneers of the patrons only reinforced that narrative.

Carefully, she made her way to an empty booth.

Chloe wasn’t actually afraid.

She hadn’t been afraid for her life in a long time.

But.

She didn’t want to cause a scene, and scare off Obi-wan.

This opportunity might not come again.

She impatiently knocked and tapped and rapped her fingers along the booth’s table.

And waited.

 

After what felt like hours, a human figure clad in a simple, unassuming robe came to sat down opposite her.

Victoria had given her a simple trinket to place on the table to let him know where his contact was.

The robe concealed his face, and most distinguishing features.

But it wasn’t exactly an uncommon piece of clothing around here.

“Who are you?”

Chloe hummed flatly and waved her hand.

“Doesn’t matter.”

She didn’t want her name dropped in a shady bar, just in case some friends of the slaving organizations she’d dedicated her life to pissing off were around. 

But this answer didn’t please the figure.

And he immediately took off.

Chloe sighed.

And rewound.

 

“Who are you?”

Chloe tried to think of an answer that would placate him.

“A friend of the Organas.”

This answer seemed better, at least.

He placed both of his hands on the table, and clasped them together.

“Take off your helmet so I can see your face.”

Due to her line of work, she pretty much constantly wore this armor.

It did have the effect of making her look equipped for war constantly.

Which wasn’t the best when you’re trying to make friends.

Chloe sighed.

“Victoria didn’t say you’d be this distrustful.”

The stranger hummed flatly.

“And Bail didn’t say he was sending a stranger.”

Well.

He had a point, there.

Chloe decided she could just rewind if this went poorly, somehow.

She reached up and took off her helmet.

She then quickly ran some of her fingers through her hair.

One of the first things she had done when she was free was to cut it.

Now, it was dyed, too.

A very unnatural blue.

She put her helmet on the table and crossed her arms.

“Happy?”

The figure nodded, and took off his own hood, in exchange.

“Simple measures of trust can go a long way.”

Chloe noticed that he hadn’t shaved in a long time.

His features looked ragged.

“Now please, your name?”

Chloe sighed and looked out of the booth, to their surroundings.

No one was paying particular attention to them.

“Chloe.”

But she still didn’t say it that loudly, just in case.

His eyes widened.

 _Shit_.

Chloe almost rewound from that _look_ on his face before ---

“Max’s friend?”

Chloe felt the wind knocked out of her.

But she managed to nod.

“I um… yeah. How did you …?”

He stood up, suddenly.

“You must come with me. I have something to show you.”

He put his hood back on, and started to walk away, evidently not even bothering to wait to see if Chloe was going to play along.

But it’s not like Chloe wanted to be in this dump any longer than she had to.

She put her helmet back on and followed after him.

 

They walked in relative silence for a while.

She noticed he avoided getting that close to any Imperial troopers.

Eventually, they made it to an unassuming house at the outskirts of the town.

He pressed a button, and the door opened.

At least it smelled nicer in here.

This house wasn’t anything special.

The furnishings all looked cheap and worn.

Most of the bulk of the house appeared to just be this one room.

Obi-wan started to fuss with some container.

Chloe awkwardly sat down on a seat near the exit.

She blinked when he turned around.

He had a light saber.

Obi-wan carefully walked over to her, and extended his hands out, offering it.

“Take it.”

He said, flatly.

She frowned, a little bit, but took the light saber from him and examined it.

Almost immediately, her fingers felt a carving in the handle.

She turned it around to examine it.

M + C. In a little heart.

This was Max’s old light saber.

Chloe bit her lip, breathed in deep, and looked up to Obi-wan.

By now, he’d taken a seat across from her.

“Where’d you get Max’s lightsaber?”

He hummed flatly.

“How do you know it is hers?”

Chloe scoffed, and looked down to the engraving, again.

“Like I’m going to forget seeing this mark.”

She sighed, wearily.

“M + C. Max plus Chloe. In one of the little hearts we used to draw as kids.”

He crossed his arms, and nodded.

“So it is you, then.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Duh.”

He just sighed and sat up straight.

“She gave it to me after we tried to stop her at the temple. When she …”

He frowned,

“Quit the order.”

Chloe frowned, too.

“You mean when you tried to stop her from curing me.”

He nodded again.

“Yes.”

She frowned more deeply.

“When you tried to force her just watch me die.”

He sighed in exasperation, and closed his eyes.

“You don’t understand. Your connection to the force …”

He opened his eyes.

“Could have swayed the entire balance of power in the galaxy. It could have undone everything we’d worked so hard for.”

Chloe just exhaled, amused.

“Yeah, well. Even if I _wanted_ to do that, Palpatine beat me to the punch.”

Obi-wan breathed in deep, closed his eyes, and looked down to the ground.

That probably was a low blow, but Chloe didn’t care at this point.

This was one of the stuffy assholes that almost had her killed.

He could do with feeling like shit from time to time.

As the silence dragged on, Chloe eventually stood up.

“Look. All I want to know is where Max is, now.”

He looked up.

His mouth was ever so slightly agape, and his eyebrows pinched downwards.

“You don’t know?”

Chloe crossed her arms.

She kept Max’s lightsaber in one of her hands, for now.

And then just sighed.

“No. I don’t. Slavers caught us and separated us. I’ve been looking for her, but haven’t turned up much.”

He frowned, but then just shook his head.

“You’re looking in the wrong places.”

Chloe frowned, too.

“Where is she, then?”

His expression softened.

“She’s with the Empire, now.”

Chloe blinked.

She felt some of the color drain out of her world.

She then just slumped back in that seat, defeated.

“Oh.”

Obi-wan didn’t give her the time to process,

“And she doesn’t go by that name, anymore. That’s about all I know. She was still on Coruscant when I left it, but …”

He looked off to one of the walls of the room,

“That was almost a year ago.”

This was a lot to take in.

Chloe slumped back further in her seat.

And then she groaned, raising a hand up to run her fingers through her hair.

“No wonder I couldn’t find anything. _Fuck._ ”

The silence that came after this wasn’t as awkward.

Chloe needed it, really, to finish processing the news.

And the implications.

 

Eventually,

“I asked Bail for something. Did he give anything to you?”

Chloe groaned, and sat up straight in her seat.

She patted down her person, before securing a small data disc.

She got up to give it to him.

He took it from her, and looked at it inquisitively.

“This is it?”

Chloe frowned, but more out of concentration.

“Oh. And-and-and …”

She patted herself down again.

This time, she produced a few small crystals.

They had an ethereal glow to them from reflecting off the ambient light around them.

He took the crystals, and examined them.

His face scrunched up severely.

“Why would the Empire want …”

But the thought died off when he suddenly stood up.

“I sense danger.”

Almost as if on cue, someone banged loudly on the door to Obi-wan’s residence.

“By order of the Emperor, open this door!”

Chloe looked to the door.

“Shit.”

She looked back to him.

“Is there any other way out?”

Obi-wan shook his head.

“No.”

Chloe sighed.

And raised her hand to rewind time.

 

She lowered her hand.

Obi-wan looked up to her, and very nearly jumped.

He looked like he’d just seen a ghost, with the color out of his face.

“You …”

He cleared his throat.

“You just teleported.”

 _Shit_.

Chloe forgot to move back to the location she _was_ at.

She could rewind _again_ , but she didn’t like doing it twice in such quick succession.

It put a certain amount of strain on her mind.

Chloe just shook her head.

“Never mind that. We must go. There are imperial troops on the way.”

Obi-wan frowned, now.

“That’s convenient. Right when you’re about to give me what Bail gave to you?”

Chloe groaned.

“Come on dude, now’s not the time. There’s only one exit out of here and ---“

Obi-wan shook his head and crossed his arms.

“Give me the items, and then we can leave.”

Chloe sighed, but gave up.

She patted herself down for the items, and gave them to him again.

Once again, Obi-wan looked troubled.

“Why would the empire want …”

When he stood up again, Chloe didn’t need to see anything more.

She rewound.

 

Chloe tried another tactic this time.

She claimed there were explosives, and they were about to die.

This too, he found unconvincing, until Chloe handed over the items.

But again, the troops arrived.

Maybe she just needed to get to this point more quickly.

She rewound again, ignoring the severe ache now in her head.

She rewound much farther back, as well.

She probably ended up cutting off some of the discussion they had had.

She stood up after the rewinding ended, and quickly made her way over to him.

“Here’s what Bail gave me. This house isn’t safe. We should …”

Chloe groaned, suddenly, and raised a hand up to rub at her forehead.

This headache felt like it was splitting her head in two.

“Are you okay? You’re bleeding.”

_What?_

Then,

_Oh no._

She knew fully well what that meant.

Chloe lowered that hand to rub at her nose.

Sure enough.

Blood.

Her vision blurred.

Try as she might, though, it was hopeless.

She couldn’t refocus her vision.

She couldn’t steady her breathing.

She fell over.

And passed out.

\---

AN-9494 dreaded knocking on the door.

This was the door leading to Captain Vix’s office.

But.

He had a job to do.

And she was very clear.

With a sigh, he knocked on the door.

Obediently, the door opened, and he carefully walked inside.

Vix was sitting at her desk, tapping away and watching a variety of screens.

He walked in front of her desk, and saluted.

Quiet.

It felt like entirely too long before,

“At ease. What is it? I’m busy.”

He nodded, quickly, and lowered his saluting hand.

“I-I know, Ma’am, I j-just ---“

He bit his lip.

 _Shit_ he sounded nervous.

Vix hummed flatly.

She tapped her fingers on the desk for a few seconds, then dismissed the screens.

She turned her chair to face him, properly.

“Calm down, private. What’s the matter?”

He breathed in deep.

Her voice sounded more calm and measured.

Maybe he didn’t have any reason to be so nervous.

He slowly produced the item of contraband that necessitated this visit to begin with.

“The new transfers. One of them had this.”

He plopped the light saber down onto her desk.

She looked down to it.

Quiet.

She canted her head slightly.

Quiet.

She compelled it into her hand with her force powers.

He gasped, quietly.

So she _was_ a force user.

After examining it for a few seconds further, Vix sighed and took off her helmet.

She had a thoughtful, somber expression on her face.

He’d _almost_ flinched when he saw her viciously yellow eyes, but knew better than to do that.

He’d learned from others that she didn’t like it when people responded like that.

And, past that …

She almost wasn’t all that intimidating.

Especially not when she was looking down at this light saber, and even smiling gently.

“Which one had this?”

Her voice was even gentle, now.

“The woman. With like, blue hair. I didn’t get her name – but – I can lead you to her.”

She nodded, and put the light saber down.

She reattached her helmet and stood up.

“Take me to her.”

\---

Chloe looked at the boring ceiling of this boring cell in this boring facility on this boring planet.

 _God damn it_.

She should have known better.

She shouldn’t have used her powers so much.

She should have just got the deal over with, and not agonized over that conversation about Max.

She’d been laying on this bed.

It was about as comfortable as a rock.

But it was slightly better than the floor.

So it’d do, for now.

Her hands were behind her head, clasped together.

Just thinking.

They probably didn’t have much to hold her for.

But Victoria talked so … poorly of the imperial prisons.

This _could_ be a death sentence for her.

The door to her cell opened.

She didn’t look down.

“I already told you assholes everything.”

Chloe said it automatically, but couldn’t help the annoyance bleeding into her voice.

“Can’t you just let me rot in here?”

“No.”

A woman’s voice.

She thought, anyway.

Hard to tell through those damn helmets.

Chloe made an amused exhale.

“Points for honesty, I guess.”

She cracked her neck, moved her hands out to stretch them above her, and slowly sat up.

She stretched her shoulders and back while looking to the person that had entered her cell.

It looked like almost any other boring Imp.

However, this one’s armor was entirely black.

That was pretty rare.

Chloe had only seen one or two others with that color.

She had an ostentatious cape – of all things – in a pure white color.

And a little colored indication on her pauldron.

Chloe knew this indicated she was a commander or officer of some kind, but wasn’t familiar enough to distinguish the particular rank.

“Alright. I’ll bite. What do you want?”

The woman hesitated.

Studying Chloe, perhaps.

Hard to tell through those damn helmets.

“To see if it was really you.”

Chloe’s brow furrowed and her mouth gaped slightly.

 _What_?

The woman took off her helmet, and allowed it to fall to the floor with an unceremonious _clack._

_Holy shit._

Chloe was up and bounding towards the intruder before her mind even fully finished processing the news.

Max.

This was Max.

Max was fucking here.

What were the fucking odds.

Chloe didn’t care, at that moment.

“Max.”

Chloe exhaled breathlessly, and immediately wrapped her arms around in a tight hug.

But it was annoying, now.

She couldn’t squeeze the breath out of her with that stupid armor on.

It was the thought that counted, anyway.

“Chloe.”

For that brief moment, all was right in the universe.

Chloe wasn’t in an imperial prison.

She was with her best friend.

That’s all that mattered.

But like all good things, it wasn’t meant to last.

Max eventually sighed wearily, and Chloe knew something was wrong.

Chloe pulled away from the tight hug just enough to stop squeezing her and to get a look at her face.

It was troubled.

More than slightly.

Her lips were pursed.

Her eyes danced dangerously.

The burning power of their yellow reminded Chloe of _everything else_.

Of all that she had done to Max.

And all that she caused.

She couldn’t stand to look at them.

Chloe took a step or two back, and put her hands behind her head.

She looked off to one of the boring walls.

Somehow, it was better than being reminded.

Of what she done to Max.

“Please tell me it isn’t true.”

Max said, after another agonizing delay.

Chloe looked to her again.

It was so difficult to keep eye contact.

This Max was like hers, but.

So different, at the same time.

Her hair was different.

She had more scars.

She smiled less.

And those _fucking_ eyes.

They felt like they were piercing straight into her soul.

Judging her for everything she’d done.

“Tell you _what_ isn’t true?”

Chloe didn’t know, honestly, what Max was on about.

Max sighed and closed her eyes.

She looked down to the floor.

After a few seconds, she looked back up again.

Her voice, drained.

“That you’re doing missions for the rebels.”

Chloe frowned, a little bit.

“So what if I am?”

But that was the wrong fucking answer.

Max’s face scrunched up and she welded her eyes closed.

“Chloe …”

Her voice came out just so painful and ---

Chloe couldn’t take that.

She raised her hand up and rewound.

 

“That you’re doing missions for the rebels.”

Chloe shook her head.

“No, not really, I just.”

She sighed softly,

“It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Vic had a way I could talk to Obi-wan, and, I dunno …”

Chloe allowed her hands to fall down to her sides.

“It seemed like the best way to find you.”

Max frowned, but this seemed to placate her better than the other response.

She closed her eyes and stayed quiet.

Considering.

“The best way to find me.”

Max eventually repeated, quietly and breathlessly.

Chloe nodded.

“Yeah, and, well, it was.”

She smiled weakly.

“Here you are.”

Max smiled weakly, too.

“Here I am.”

They enjoyed that thought for a moment.

Max’s face then fell, again.

But her expression was softer.

“Chloe. Please don’t do any assignments for them. They don’t have the galaxy’s best interest in mind.”

Her voice was so quiet.

Fragile, almost.

Chloe sighed now, and looked off to one of the walls.

She crossed her arms.

“Don’t act like I’m going around capping storm troopers. This was just _one_ job and it was from a friend and ---“

Max raised her hands up, defensively.

Chloe stopped.

“I know, Clo. I trust you.”

She lowered her hands.

“I’m going to have you released. I just wanted to make sure …”

She breathed in deeply, and closed her eyes for a few moments,

“That I wouldn’t regret it, later.”

_Owch._

But maybe Chloe kind of deserved that.

Chloe wanted to thank Max for going out of her way to release her.

Chloe wanted to tell Max about her attraction to her.

Chloe wanted to tell Max so much.

But she just bit her lip and stared at the wall.

Max’s expression soured, slightly.

The silence probably wasn’t treating her well.

She leaned over to pick her helmet up.

“I understand. Just please – for me – whatever you still care for me – stay alive, okay? Keep yourself out of trouble.”

_Whatever you still care for me._

Fuck.

Max turned on her heel ---

“Wait --- Max.”

Chloe just couldn’t let that ---

She bounded to her ---

Max turned around ---

They were _inches_ apart ---

Max blinked, looking up to Chloe with that same soft expression from earlier.

Only her mouth was agape slightly, this time.

She held her helmet to her belly, in both hands.

“Chloe?”

Chloe knew that tone – she was worried.

But fuck it.

Chloe took another step closer, until they were adjacent.

She could feel Max’s breathing on her neck, again.

“Max. I ---“

Chloe looked off to the wall before back to her,

“I really like you. Like, _a lot_. I’ve been trying to find you constantly for like the past year and –“

She smiled toothily,

“Kiss me?”

Max’s mouth gaped wider ---

She blushed furiously ---

“I …”

Max blinked ---

 _Fuck, that was too forward_ \---

Chloe almost raised her hand up ---

 

Max leaned up and kissed Chloe.

 

It was slow.

Warm.

Gentle.

It was always how Chloe imagined it would have been.

She could feel this little cut on Max’s lip every time either of them moved an inch.

Chloe wanted to do _something_ with her hands, but the shock that Max went through with it, barely with any hesitation, paralyzed that part of her.

Max pulled away.

Chloe opened her eyes, again.

Max’s face was consumed in blush, and she was looking down.

It was the most vulnerable Chloe had seen her in years.

Not since ---

“Chloe …”

Chloe frowned.

There was that _fucking_ painful edge to Max’s words, again.

Like her heart was being ripped out.

“No – I just – I can’t –“

Chloe blinked.

Was Max rejecting her?

After that?

Max turned her head to the side and smacked the controls to Chloe’s cell.

The door behind her opened.

She took a few steps back until she was in the door way.

Chloe’s body still refused to move.

“Max …”

But she could manage a weak, scratchy vocalization.

“Please. Chloe. Don’t make this harder. Stay out of imperial space. Stay out of trouble … Stay alive.”

She breathed in deeply.

“Trust me.”

She put on her helmet, stepped back, and closed the cell door.

Chloe slowly looked down to the floor.

And sniffled.

“I trust you, Max.”

Not that Max could hear it.

Chloe punched the stupid fucking cell door.

And then immediately recoiled and shook her hand because _fucking ow._

Why the hell did she just do that?

Chloe turned around and tried to keep her composure.

She replayed the exchange in her mind again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

She tried to find some fault.

Some reason for why Max suddenly rejected her.

Something she could fix.

Something she could rewind to and do differently.

 

But Chloe couldn’t think of anything she could have done differently.

All she had really done was remove this confusing ambiguity.

And with the ambiguity gone, she had clarity on the real problem.

But this was a problem her powers couldn’t fix.

 

Max didn’t like her in that way.

Chloe slumped down on her uncomfortable-ass bed.

And cried.

\---

The elevator ride to Palpatine’s throne room was excruciatingly long.

Vix figured this was probably by design.

To make it feel so isolated from the rest of the ship.

 

The doors to the throne room opened.

Vix walked out.

She walked towards the throne itself.

Palpatine.

Her emperor.

It felt like such a needlessly large room.

But needlessly ostentatious was rather Palpatine's style.

When she was close enough to his throne, she paused, and kneeled.

She put her hands in her lap, bowed her head, and exhaled uneasily.

“You are back.”

Palpatine sounded older than Vix remembered.

“I am, Master.”

Vix had trouble breathing right ever since ---

“They are dead, then?”

Vix nodded.

“Both she and Obi-wan are … dead.”

Her voice came out uneven and troubled.

For more than one reason.

Lying to the emperor was high treason.

Vix knew what happened to traitors.

 

“ **Good**.”

But the emperor trusted her, for some reason.

When she looked up to him, he was smiling oh so very wide.

“The last of your weaknesses are purged. You are truly Sith, now.”

He stood up from his throne, and walked down the steps leading to it.

He placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Rise, Darth Vix.”

 

She stood up, and looked Palpatine in the eyes.

His eyes, too, were corrupted into that vicious glow.

 

"Go find Grand Moff Tarkin. Demand a test of the Death Star in my name. Witness our glory, and the dawn of a new era."

 

 


	4. Jeopardy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vix deals with her promotion.
> 
> Chloe learns she's actually kind of dead.

“Four thermal detonators.”

Chloe carefully picked up the spherical orbs and placed them back on her armor.

“Two blaster pistols. Same make and model.”

These too, carefully placed back on her person.

“A …”

The trooper hesitated, and looked up to her,

“Grappling hook?”

She just nodded.

“For like climbin’ walls. And shit.”

Her voice was dull and flat and drained ever since that exchange with Max.

The trooper just shrugged and pushed it across his desk to her all the same.

But the next item, he hesitated on.

“A light saber.”

Chloe blinked.

She knew now, that ---

“This item is contraband.”

The trooper sounded troubled.

“Why is it here? It should be …”

The trooper looked over to one of his coworkers, who was also processing leaving prisoners.

That trooper just looked over and shrugged.

“It’s not an accident. Captain probably put it there.”

The first just sighed and shook his helmet.

“Above my paygrade. Just don’t get caught with this stuff.”

Chloe looked between the exchange, and down to the lightsaber.

She didn’t have any usual place to put it on her armor, so she just held it in a hand.

Running her fingers along the engraving.

_Captain probably put it there._

“Now then. Name?”

Chloe sighed.

“Chloe Price.”

The trooper had been looking at a little card she knew to have been her identification.

He canted his head, and then looked back up to her.

“You sure about that? Your ID says your name is Alyx.”

Chloe blinked.

But some part of her worked automatically to raise her hand and rewind time.

 

“Name?”

“Alyx.”

The trooper grunted flatly, and gave her her ID back.

She looked at it herself.

Sure enough.

_Alyx Price._

The rest of the information on the card was entirely accurate.

Just that name was different.

She frowned.

It was correct when she was captured.

What could have ---

“Now then. Since this is your first offense, and you have pledged loyalty to the empire, the captain says you’re free to go.”

What was going on?

This definitely wasn’t her first offense.

She looked up from her ID.

And studied the trooper.

Not that she could see much through that damn helmet.

 

But then the words really hit her.

_The captain._

Some of the pieces started to fall in place.

She put her ID away and nodded.

“My loyalty is always with the empire.”

Chloe didn’t know how much of a lie this was, but she knew it was what the trooper wanted to hear.

“Glad to hear it.”

The exchange was rote for him, so his voice was impressively bored.

“Next.”

 

Chloe walked in something of a stupor to the space port.

The captain had to have been Max.

There was no other explanation.

She must have been in command of that facility.

That would at least explain why they transferred her and Obi-wan to it.

If anyone was equipped to deal with two force-sensitive people, it’d be her.

But still.

The pieces refused to fit correctly, for Chloe.

She thought Max didn’t really like her.

And the kiss was just some act of compulsion.

Something to verify she something she already knew.

Yet.

If Max didn’t really like her, she had just gone pretty far out of her way to give Chloe a new slate.

A new life, almost.

“Chloe.”

She frowned.

Obi-wan’s voice.

She was just shy of entering the space port now.

This was a pretty public place for the type of conversations they’d had before.

“I don’t have anything to say to you.”

She said flatly, coldly.

She didn’t, really.

She didn’t need him for Max anymore, and her job was done.

And she wasn’t about to forgive him for forcing Max’s hand.

Obi-wan frowned, and pulled her over away from the entrance somewhat.

She wrestled her arm and shoulder free of him.

“Don’t touch me, ‘kay-thanks-bye.”

He sighed wearily, and looked up to the sky with his eyes closed tightly.

His face was at least softer and bled of any visible irritation when he looked back down.

“The empire is about to build a massive superweapon. That’s what ---“

She scoffed and shook her head.

“I don’t care.”

This was response, though, Obi-wan wasn’t expecting.

He blinked, and was quiet for a few seconds.

“Billions could die. The rebellion will be defeated overnight.”

Chloe just shrugged.

“Good for them.”

Her attitude still continued to inspire quiet in him.

Eventually he shook his head.

“What’s gotten into you?”

Chloe sighed.

“I talked to Max. She doesn’t want me mixing up with rebels.”

Chloe put her hands on her waist and looked off into the distance.

“Can’t exactly say I blame her. Look at all of the trouble just one job brought me.”

He frowned more deeply.

“We don’t all have the luxury of being able to ignore the empire. Some of us have already lost too much.”

Oh fuck off.

Chloe frowned in such a severe way she didn’t know was possible.

She shoved at his chest with a single finger before crossing her arms.

She turned her body away from him.

“Get fucked. Don’t _you_ try and talk to _me_ about sacrifice. I lost _everything_.”

She turned around.

“Now I’m going to go drink until I can’t see straight.”

He tried to call her name again, but Chloe was already walking away.

She did look back to him, though.

“Go jump in a sarlacc pit or something. It’d be a better use of your time.”

With that, he finally got the clue.

And he too, started to walk away.

Fuck him.

 

Chloe had to take a dumb passenger ship back to that shitty sand planet to get back to her real ship.

But at least in the comfort of her real ship, she could warp off into nowhere.

Chloe poured herself some of the stiffest drinks she had and stared out into the abyss.

The infinite set of dim, twinkling stars.

And the countless planets that surrounded each.

 

Chloe sighed and took a gulp of her drink.

A year ago, she looked at this and saw opportunity.

Infinitely many places to live her life.

Infinitely many places to make the universe a better place.

Infinitely many chances to find her parents or Max.

She could live her entire life out here, constantly moving from place to place.

And never even see an infinitesimally small fraction of the entire universe.

It was exciting.

Freeing.

Now, though.

Now she had reencountered Max.

Now she had busted up more than a thousand slave ships.

And made zero progress towards finding her parents.

She slumped back into her seat.

They were probably dead.

She was probably wasting her time.

What was the whole point of this?

Chloe didn’t know, anymore.

Sure, she could free some slaves.

She could make some people’s lives infinitely better.

But there were just so damn many slaving operations.

She was a drop in an ocean.

A dumb, drunk drop that thought she could turn the tide of the ocean, somehow.

She finished off her drink and poured herself another glass.

 

She looked over to her navigational computer.

She opened it up.

And erased all of the plans she had made.

All the indications.

All the markings.

Chloe Price was dead now.

That part of her life was pointless.

But she didn’t know what she’d do, anymore.

Without Max.

And Without Victoria, who was increasingly becoming militant about her place in the rebellion.

_Victoria._

Chloe groaned and raised her head up.

She had to know.

That Chloe wasn’t going to be doing any more missions from her.

It was the least Chloe could do.

For all that she had done.

But not now.

Now, Chloe would drink.

Chloe finished off another drink, and breathed in deep.

She looked to some random constellation of stars.

And giggled to herself.

“Dog.”

\---

“Congratulations on the promotion, my Lord.”

Vix grunted.

She’d not even made it halfway to Tarkin, and this was already the fifth person to walk along side her to offer these words.

She’d more-or-less brushed those off.

But this one looked different.

An officer, maybe.

He had a cape and a suit as white as snow.

He certainly had that air about him.

That measure of equal parts confidence and arrogance.

“Thank you. Word travels fast, I guess.”

She kept her voice flat, though.

Lest he think she was too interested in discussing this.

He nodded eagerly.

“Oh of course. We’re all very carefully watching what the Emperor does these days.”

He folded his hands together.

“And you – you’re quite close to him.”

He paused, suddenly.

“But I must be off. I have other matters to attend to. But don’t forget my name ---“

Vix already forgot it.

 

Vix found Grand Moff Tarkin on the ship’s bridge.

Along side the ship’s commander

She stopped shy of them, and cleared her throat.

“Commander. Grand Moff.”

Grand Moff Tarkin was a fierce man.

Aged features, withered body, sharp officer’s suit.

His aging was such that it looked like someone had poorly stretched some skin over a skeleton.

Wirey, gaunt.

He carried himself like he deserved respect.

Both he and the ship’s commander had been standing adjacent, looking out the massive windows on the ship’s bridge.

They both looked back to her, in unison, before deciding to turn around in full to face her.

The commander was a stone.

“My lord.”

Tarkin smiled.

“Please, my lord. I am Tarkin to you, now.”

She frowned, slightly, but not that anyone could see it in her helmet.

Was there like an announcement or something …?

Still, the fact that Tarkin, of all people, was acting so kind to her, must have meant she out-ranked him, now.

She never quite worked out how the upper-echelons of Imperial command worked.

She imitated their posture, and brought her hands behind the small of her back to cross them there.

“Very well, Tarkin. The Emperor demands a test of the Death Star project. I am to oversee it.”

Tarkin continued to smile.

“Of course.”

He looked to the commander, nodded at him, and started to walk away from the bridge.

“Follow me.”

At least he stopped smiling so much as Vix followed after him.

His smile was kind of unnerving.

Tarkin started to speak as they entered the hallways.

“You know, I’ve been watching you for a while.”

Vix hummed flatly.

“I remember. You offered me … that position.”

He nodded slowly.

“Yes. Quite. But you had other plans.”

Quiet.

“I’ve never wanted control over a ship or an army. My place is in the front lines, impacting change directly.”

Tarkin nodded again.

“Your station has been invaluable to our efforts in the outer rim. Still. The Emperor sees greater potential for you, yet.”

She sighed.

“I guess so.”

He chuckled quietly.

“Come now, my lord. This is a time for celebration. The rebellion is about to end.”

Vix nodded.

“There is no one else who is looking forward more to the end of the rebellion than I, Tarkin. I assure you.”

 

The rest of their walk was in companionable silence, as they had picked the troopers that made up Tarkin’s personal guard shortly afterwards.

In the silence, Vix had plenty of time to think.

What was she really, to the empire, now?

Did she have any power to truly make things different?

Or did Tarkin’s respect extend only so far because of her closeness to the emperor?

 

Eventually, they made it to the bridge of Tarkin’s ship.

Vix stared out at the stars.

And continued to think.

 

“We’re going to be testing on that?”

Vix asked with some incredulity.

They had came out of warp near a planet and its moon.

She could see the Death Star already looming nearby.

Tarkin came up beside her.

“Quite. The little moon should be easy for it to destroy.”

She looked to him.

“Is there anyone else going to be here for this test?”

Tarkin shook his head.

“No. We’ve already completed initial testing.”

He frowned, slightly.

“And found some impurities in our ranks.”

Tarkin shook his head.

“No need to worry about that, though. That matter should be taken care of.”

_Some impurities in our ranks._

Vix frowned, but nodded.

“No time like the present, then.”

He chuckled.

“Indeed. Observe the might of the Empire.”

Vix turned her attention to the Death Star itself.

A massive structure of impressive grays.

It had to have been the largest space station known to the galaxy.

Supposedly indestructible.

Immortal.

It was almost a metaphor for the Empire itself.

Intimidating and flawless.

Peace through strength and unity.

It was hard to believe true peace in the galaxy was so close at hand.

Vix waited patiently.

Soon, indescribably large beams of energy started to pour out from the Death Star’s signature dimple.

All of the points focused.

And then assaulted the little moon in orbit around the planet they were near.

Vix gasped loudly as the moon simply _exploded._

Into a million fantastic little explosive fireworks.

The debris floated off into space aimlessly.

The moon was gone.

 

She was breathless, speechless as Tarkin looked to her, and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Amazing, isn’t it?”

It took Vix a second to avert her gaze and turn her face to look at him properly.

“I …”

She breathed in deep,

“I thought it was only going to be used to destroy structures on planets.”

Tarkin smiled again, and removed his hand.

“It was.”

He looked forward.

“But my suggestions are more … _dramatic_. What greater way to inspire surrender than threaten the very home worlds of the rebel scum?”

Vix looked forward.

She felt a pit of nervous, anxious energy growing in her stomach.

This weapon was disastrously lethal.

If this was used to destroy a populated planet, instead of some space rock, would her conscience be clear?

She knew the answer.

And she didn’t like it, one bit.

She crossed her arms and tightened her fists.

“Surrender had better come quickly. Destroying planets will earn us exponentially more enemies than friends.”

Tarkin smiled, again.

“Have some faith. The Empire no longer has any need for cooperation. Our rule will either be accepted, or punishment will be severe and swift.”

Vix breathed out, and allowed him the final words, for now.

She needed time to process this news.

 

“Sir. My lord.”

A trooper came up behind the two of them.

Saluting, of course.

Vix looked back first, then Tarkin.

“There’s a situation on Scarif.”

Vix could see Tarkin’s face scrunch up in disgust.

He turned around to face the soldier fully.

Vix mirrored.

They both kept their hands crossed behind the smalls of their backs.

“At ease. What do you mean?”

The soldier looked nervously to the side, before back to him,

“Rebels.”

Tarkin’s face distorted further.

But then he seemed to remember himself, and his expression became flat.

Unreadable.

He turned around to look out the window, again.

“Set course for Scarif. Have the Death Star join us.”

Vix turned around belatedly, and walked up close to Tarkin’s side.

“Scarif is an Imperial world.”

They both already knew this, of course.

But it was more of an accusation, than a statement of fact.

He gave her a sidelong glance.

And then he chuckled, briefly.

“You wanted to see it destroy just the structures on a planet, didn’t you?”

\---

Chloe’s damn computer was beeping at her again.

She woke up with a groan.

And a terrible headache.

But this one wasn’t the kind of aches she got from time travel.

So that was a plus, at least.

Still, she rubbed at her forehead and cheeks as harshly as she could with a hand while she tried to shut up her computer with her other hand.

She’d just passed out in her pilot’s chair.

A new message.

A holoscreen popped up in front of her.

 _Next time you’re going to fake a death, tell me about it? This_ is _fake, right? -V_

Underneath was some dumb news report about two deaths in ---

_Oh._

Chloe slowly peeled her hand off of her forehead to read better.

There was a picture that caught her eye, immediately.

Someone must have gotten a picture of her after she passed out.

Only Obi-wan was in it, too.

_Chloe Price and unknown Jedi Sympathizer, pictured above after fatal gunfight with Imperial forces._

They sure looked pretty dead in the picture.

_That’d make for a good tattoo. Dead woman walking._

Chloe then just groaned.

Now was not the time to be thinking about tats.

Even if she’d been starting to amass a collection on her arm.

Still.

This news report looked official.

Chloe Price was officially dead.

Chloe dismissed the screen and slumped back in her seat.

 

Well.

 

This was not what she was expecting, in the slightest, when she took that job.

Chloe decided to give Victoria a call to let her know that she wasn’t, in fact, dead.

And the result of the mission in general, really.

But she didn’t answer.

Chloe tried an awful lot, too.

“C’mon bitch, don’t make me go all of the way to that yeti planet.”

But it was no use.

With a weary sigh, she pulled up her navigational computer again.

Alderaan it was.

 

Fucking Yetis and their yeti planet.

At least it was slightly warmer, this time of year.

Still, she had a warm yeti jacket on over her usual set of armor.

It looked pretty silly.

But she was warm.

So she didn’t care.

She landed on one of the _official serious business_ landing pads near the royal castle.

She’d learned this both annoyed Victoria and meant she didn’t have to walk all of the way to and from the space port.

So it was officially her new favorite parking spot.

Quietly, she made her way from the landing pad into the castle.

Whence inside, she just kind of stopped, at the carpet leading to the throne room.

“Hello? Anyone home?”

 She looked around.

That echo was unnerving when there was no one else around.

“Chloe?”

She looked behind to see Nathan.

She grinned.

“Nate.”

He canted his head to the side and crossed his arms.

“What are you doing here?”

But he walked towards her, away from one of the countless many hallways, all the same.

“Vic thinks I’m dead. Kinda wanted to rub it in her face for being an idiot.”

He stopped shy of her, and frowned, slightly.

“Well, she’s not here.”

Chloe blinked.

“She’s not? She’s always here.”

Nathan nodded, but then shook his head.

“She’s been very antsy lately.”

He hesitated,

“There’s a rebel operation going on that she wanted to be a part of.”

Chloe groaned, and raised her hands up to place them on her cheeks, and fiercely drag them downwards.

“She’s going to get herself killed doing that someday.”

This made him smile, at least.

“Wouldn’t you like that?”

Chloe just rolled her eyes.

“ _I_ wanted to kill her, dumbass. If something _else_ does, then I don’t get the satisfaction.”

He laughed warmly.

“Oh I see. My mistake.”

Chloe smiled too.

For a few seconds, anyway.

“So um. Where she at, then?”

Nathan shrugged.

“I don’t know. You know I’m not interested in all of this … war, stuff.”

She nodded.

The people of Alderaan had quite a reputation for being peaceful.

Victoria was an … outlier.

“Chloe!”

Chloe barely had the time to recognize the voice before she felt Bail’s arms wrapping around her and squeezing the very fabric of life out of her.

When he had the decency to put her down, she wheezed and patted at her chest.

“Tryin’ to kill me, dude?”

But it was playful.

She liked hugging people like that, too.

Just it wasn’t fair when _he_ did it to _her_ , since he had a height advantage and like 50 pounds on her.

Bail laughed.

“How can I kill you when you’re already dead?”

Chloe rubbed at the back of her neck, and deflated a little bit.

“You heard about that, huh?”

She looked up to him.

Bail nodded, and breathed in deep.

“You should have heard the noise Victoria made when she saw the news.”

“It could have woke the dead.”

Nathan grumbled indignantly.

Chloe looked back to Nathan only briefly, before laughing softly.

“Well, I’m not dead.”

She sobered her expression up.

“Listen, Bail. The mission with Obi-wan didn’t go to plan. I met him and delivered the message, but … Imps were watching his home and caught us.”

Bail sighed, crossed his arms, and nodded.

“I know, Obi-wan came by here and told us everything not too long ago. He left with Victoria.”

She frowned.

“What on earth would they need a former Jedi for?”

Bail hesitated.

“They’re going to attack Scarif.”

The way he said this, Chloe knew that this was supposed to be important, but the name wasn’t familiar.

“Scarif?”

He blinked.

“Oh, right, of course. Scarif is an Imperial world. They use it to house all kinds of important information and supplies.”

He allowed his hands to fall down to his sides.

“We had news that they were holding plans for the Death Star – a horrifying super weapon – there.”

But he sighed.

“The news wasn’t very credible, though. Most of the rebellion is staying back.”

He was quiet, for a little while.

“This might be the end of the rebellion as we know it. We can’t agree on a course of action; the forces that have gone to Scarif are effectively rogue.”

Chloe was conflicted.

He sounded so pained, but.

She also wanted to listen to Max.

Chloe still felt like she owed her.

“I’m sorry.”

Is what she eventually managed, to which Bail just nodded with another sigh.

“Yeah. Dark times.”

Chloe breathed in deep.

“I’m going go take a breather by my ship.”

Nathan scoffed.

“You hate the cold.”

Chloe looked back to Nathan with a toothy grin.

“Yeah-well I hate this echo _even more_. So stuff it.”

 

Chloe made her way outside again, and crossed her arms.

Nathan was right, of course.

She fucking hated the cold out here.

She wasn’t a Yeti.

But she wanted some time to think, all alone.

And to have a smoke.

She told herself she didn’t really need them that often.

But she had a feeling that something awful was going to happen to Victoria.

And she needed whatever help she could get to soothe herself.

After she finished her smoke, she allowed it to just drop to the landing pad, uselessly, and put her hands on her waist.

Then, she looked up to the sky.

And blinked, and frowned out of confusion.

 

Alderaan didn’t have a moon.

And yet.

She could see one, clear as day.


	5. Impact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Death Star blows up a planet.
> 
> A crowd of people bicker.
> 
> Victoria cries.
> 
> Chloe cries.
> 
> Max cries.
> 
> She won't let it happen.

Chloe took out another cigarette to smoke.

And just stared at this damn not-moon moon.

Did they make an artificial one for beauty shots or something?

After a little while, the moon started to light up.

Then, massive and intense laser beams poured out of its exterior.

Straight towards the planet she was on.

Chloe just stared in disbelief.

But not out of fear.

As the beam got closer, closer, and closer, she just closed her eyes and sighed.

She took another hit of her cigarette, and waited for the gentle sound of the world around her to go away.

And be replaced with the annoying silence of when time was paused.

Sure enough.

Soon only the sound of blood rushing near her ears was her company.

With another despondent sigh, she opened her eyes up to be greeted by the color drained out of her world.

She dropped her cigarette.

But just to watch it kind of float uselessly in midair.

She then crossed her arms, and turned towards the stupid death moon.

“Funny, right?”

She allowed her arms to fall down to her side.

“Fucking hilarious. Great joke. I get it. I can’t even have _one_ place I can call home, huh?”

Chloe knew this kind of rambling and ranting wasn’t healthy.

But she didn’t fucking care right now.

She raised her arms up to either side of her body,

“What do you want out of me? Huh? What?”

She looked around.

“What?!”

She hadn’t actually stayed too long in this frozen mode before.

She didn’t know what would happen.

Her breathing became a bit more labored and severe.

“What?! Is it a game? Is my suffering funny? Am I just a punch line to some dumb fucking joke I’ll never see?!”

Her tone wasn’t even.

She knew nothing could hear her.

But that wasn’t the point of this, not really.

Her arms fell down to her sides.

She sat down, brought her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around.

She looked down to the floor.

“I’m not laughing. Find someone else to torture.”

She closed her eyes.

“Just let me die. Please.”

 

The universe didn’t.

Time remained frozen.

But she could wait.

She did wait.

It was hard to tell how long.

If that was even a concept that made sense in this fucked-up state.

 

Eventually, she sighed, and laid down on the landing pad.

She crossed her arms and kept her eyes closed.

In this stillness, her anger slowly bled out of her.

_Stay alive, okay? Stay out of trouble._

Fucking Max’s words came to haunt her.

To remind her of all the effort Max went through to make sure she was alive.

And still breathing.

Chloe relieved that kiss.

It was dumb, pathetic fantasy.

And she knew it was for every second.

But it was a kind of fantasy she needed, right now.

She relieved that moment of intense suffering on Max’s face, afterwards, too.

She probably wasn’t going to forget the whole conversation, for as long as she lived.

_Stay out of imperial space. Stay out of trouble. Stay alive._

Max had sacrificed so much for her.

She had tried so hard to make sure Chloe lived.

_Trust me._

Chloe raised her head up to let it fall back down and bang against the metal of the landing pad.

It hurt.

But then just sighed again.

That was the last of her anger, finding an outlet.

“I trust you, Max.”

She opened her eyes, and started to stand up, again.

She frowned, and looked back up to the sky.

The big dumb not-moon and its big dumb death laser hadn’t gone anywhere.

She looked around, again.

Her ship was right there.

She could just rewind a little bit, and get out of here.

Chloe didn’t know where she would go.

But she’d be alive.

She smiled weakly, somehow.

She’d be staying out of trouble.

She’d be staying out of imperial space.

She’d be alive.

But.

 

 _Thankfully for you, I_ am _looking for her. And I think I have a break._

A memory of Victoria.

All that Victoria ever cared for was on this fucking planet.

And it was probably about to go up in flames.

If not out-right obliterated, if time was stopped before the beam even hit the surface.

Victoria too, tried so hard.

She genuinely wanted Chloe to be happy.

Or as happy as she could be, in her fucked-up circumstance.

What would happen to Victoria if she knew her entire family and boyfriend died?

That her home planet was destroyed?

Would she still have the will to fight?

Chloe looked down.

Would she end up like Chloe?

Would she kill herself?

 

Chloe sighed and closed her eyes.

 

Victoria didn’t deserve this.

No one deserved what happened to her.

Or Max.

When Chloe opened her eyes back up, she started to walk towards the palace.

And raised her hand up.

Moving and rewinding was much more difficult than standing and rewinding.

But she needed to do this.

She needed every possible second she could get if she was going to save anyone’s life down here.

And she wasn’t sure she’d be able to look Victoria in the face if she didn’t give it everything she had.

 

By the time she made it to the grand hallway, she just about collapsed on the doorframe leading into it.

Her head was absolutely killing her.

Her body felt like every nerve was being set on fire.

There was an inescapable pressure on her chest, that made it hard to breathe.

Like her body was just giving up on her.

Mercifully, Nathan and Bail were still in the hallway.

Chloe hugged at herself with one arm, and forced herself off of the doorframe towards them.

She still had some fighting to do.

 

When she reached them, she smiled weakly.

She lowered her hand.

She’d been so used to the sound of _nothing_ that suddenly having it all come back to her was overwhelming.

Or maybe that was just the wooziness she was feeling.

She collapsed onto her hands and knees.

Panting miserably.

She’d never been so short of breath in her life.

“Chloe …?”

Damn it.

She couldn’t form words right now.

But she needed to.

Bail got down on his knees and started to help her up.

She was breathing a little bit easier by the time she was standing, again.

“We need to … leave … there’s ….”

She groaned.

She raised a hand up to rub at her forehead.

“Woah woah woah woah. Slow down, there. You’re bleeding, alright? Let’s go find you a b ---“

“ ** _NO_**!”

She said it too loud.

A shout, really.

But she needed to say it like that.

She needed them to hear the _pain_ in her voice.

It was enough to give Bail pause, and look at her more carefully.

“What’s going on, Chloe? You’re freaking us out.”

Chloe breathed in as deeply as she could, and rubbed the blood away from her nose with a free hand.

“Get the queen. Get to my ship. Now. No time to … explain.”

She looked at Bail.

His face was so troubled.

She couldn’t even imagine how bizarre this must be for him.

Bail looked past her, to Nathan.

“Vic says …”

Nathan chimed in, and suddenly sighed.

“Sometimes Chloe acts weird. Just has a weird burst of insight.”

Chloe looked back to him.

“She’s told me all of the times that shit happens.”

He closed his eyes.

“And it’s always been right.”

Bail sighed himself.

“You can’t seriously be ---“

“--- Yes.”

Chloe looked back to Bail, and tried to give him her best pleading eyes.

“ _Please_.”

Her voice was wavering and exhausted and drained and pathetic, but.

“Okay, okay, okay.”

Convincing enough.

“I’ll get the queen. You help her back to her ship.”

Nathan walked over and provided the support Chloe needed right now to stand up.

As they started to walk towards the exit, Chloe looked back to Bail.

“Hurry, please.”

Bail just shook his head and gave them a wave from his hand.

“Yeah-yeah.”

Chloe groaned, and looked forward.

When they made it outside, she looked to Nathan.

They stopped shy of her ship.

She felt good enough to support her own weight, for now.

Even if she still felt woozy.

“Thanks.”

He smiled, softly.

“I should be thanking you. You should hear how Vic talks about you.”

Chloe scoffed, amused.

She crossed her arms, and smiled gently.

“I can imagine. How I’m the worst friend in the world, how she can never shut me up when ---“

“--- No.”

Nathan’s interruption caught her off-guard.

She carefully looked to him, and her expression softened.

“Nothing like that.”

He sighed, and crossed his own arms.

“I know she’s not the best at emotional stuff, but. She really needs a friend like you, sometimes.”

He smiled wryly.

“We wouldn’t even be together without you, remember?”

Chloe thought about making her routine disgusted noises whenever Victoria and Nathan’s relationship was a subject.

But she was busy being blindsided by what Nathan had to say.

He sounded so genuine, and honest.

“Yeah. I remember.”

She looked forward, off into the distance.

She had a thought that she had never, before.

If she had died, how much would it impact Victoria?

She remembered Bail and Nathan joking about when Victoria head of her death.

It didn’t sound like she took it easily.

How much would it impact Max?

Chloe sighed, and raised a hand up to rub at her forehead.

She couldn’t keep relying on these fucking powers to keep her alive, like this.

She had people that cared for her.

And she didn’t know if they’d last.

“What the fuck.”

Chloe looked sidelong to Nathan.

He’d finally noticed not-moon.

Chloe cracked her neck, and allowed her hand to fall down.

“Oh. Yeah. That’s the thing that’s about to turn us into space dust. That’s why we need to leave. Like, yesterday.”

“Shit shit shit shit-shit-shit shit ...”

Nathan suddenly took off, back into the palace.

Chloe just rolled her eyes.

If it meant everyone would be back here, more quickly …

 

Not much later, a whole party of people emerged.

Chloe frowned.

They ran to her.

This was way too many people – but.

At least Nathan, Bail, and the Queen were here.

Chloe looked around.

Of course, no other ships were on any of the other landing pads.

Just hers.

“There’s no way we can fit this many people.”

The Queen frowned.

“We have to try.”

Chloe sighed.

But then she heard that _fucking_ noise again.

She snapped her head to the not-moon.

It was firing again.

“Shitfuckdamnit --- Alright, move move move!”

Chloe bolted into her ship and sat down in the pilot’s seat as fast as she could.

She’d never cycled through the start procedure so quickly before in her life.

When she was almost done, she looked back to see a writhing swarm of bodies.

They were _definitely_ not all going to fit.

“I _told you_ \---“

“--- Just go! This is everyone.”

Chloe looked back forward, raised the ramp onto her ship, and started to take off.

The ground was violently shaking by the time she had.

A massive gust of wind almost knocked her ship off-balance and to the ground, but.

She wasn’t a rookie.

She knew how to fly this damn thing.

“Hold on to your butts.”

Some in the party groaned.

But she got a few polite chuckles.

More turbulence.

Chloe frowned.

Chloe was not going to look.

She was not.

Not going to look.

She looked.

Damn it.

A huge wave of nasty death was _right_ there, behind her ship.

But ---

There.

They were out of the planet’s atmosphere.

Chloe _really_ didn’t want the not-moon noticing her ship.

As soon as she could, she aligned for a warp out of here.

And left what used to be Alderaan.

 

When they exited warp in one of Chloe’s safe nothingness spots, she sighed wearily.

It’s over.

They made it.

She looked back to the collection of compressed meat masquerading as several bodies.

“We’re safe.”

Dead silence.

She frowned, a little bit.

But maybe she shouldn’t have been expecting cheers.

They did just lose their planet, after all.

“Where can we go to drop y’all off?”

More silence.

“Yavin-4.”

Indiscriminate murmuring.

“We can’t ---“

Another voice Chloe didn’t recognize.

“--- Any better ideas?”

Yet another voice.

Silence.

Chloe looked back forward.

“Yavin-4 it is, then.”

“This just validates ---“

“--- _Nothing_ validates what just happened.”

The group was starting to devolve into bickering.

Chloe groaned.

“No arguing on my ship. Y’all can tear each other’s throats out when we land. Not a second sooner.”

Even the dumb silence of when time was paused was better than entirely-too-many people bickering.

But thankfully, they saw the wisdom in what she had to say.

Or just felt obligated to listen to her.

Either way, the trip to Yavin-4 was peaceful.

 

When they were in orbit, Bail made his way into the co-pilot’s seat – somehow.

“I can get us permission to land.”

He wasn’t lying, either.

But Chloe couldn’t even see where there could even _be_ a place to land, though.

“There.”

He was pointing to some fucking trees.

Chloe shot him a glare.

“We can’t land on _trees._ ”

He sighed with some exasperation.

“It’s an illusion. Just trust me.”

_Trust me._

Max’s words picked a weird fucking time to haunt her, again.

Maybe it wasn’t haunting, anymore.

“Alright.”

Either way, her voice came out more measured and even, next.

She even had a smart-ass _I hope you’re right_ line ready to go.

But.

She flew her ship to the patch of trees as though it was an actual landing pad.

And trusted him.

She was still breathing more than a little severely until she saw for herself.

The trees flickered in an unnerving manner as they passed through them.

A metallic trap door of sorts opened underneath them, and they continued to descend.

Until they were safely underground, and landed.

Chloe rested back in her pilot’s seat, and sighed.

“Alright. Here we are, kids. You can fight, now.”

She started to power down various systems on the ship and open the ramp so they could get off her ship.

They couldn’t have gotten off any more quickly.

And she could hear them bickering as soon as they did.

But Bail didn’t get up.

He just looked to her.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

Chloe looked sidelong to him,

“Do what?”

He frowned.

“Save us.”

He hesitated.

“You have to have known how crazy you sounded. It could have gotten you killed.”

Chloe looked forward, again.

Not that there was anything to see, now.

“Yeah, well. Victoria would have killed me if I let you all die. Like super-definitely-hyper murder me.”

Somehow, someway, Chloe managed to sound a little playful.

He was still quiet.

But then he smiled, and got up off the co-pilot’s seat.

He placed a hand briefly on her shoulder before he started to walk off her ship.

“She’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

Chloe looked back, and watched him go.

“Thanks.”

After he left, Chloe raised the ramp to her ship, and made it to her bed.

She collapsed on it.

The over-exertion of that stressful flying and her rewinding far more than she should have finally caught up to her.

She was out like a light.

 

Chloe really needed to silence her fucking ship’s computer.

She groaned, and got up from her bed.

She knew, of course, that she probably would never get up if she actually did silence it.

But still felt cathartic to blame it every single time.

She plopped herself back down onto her pilot’s seat, and pressed a button to summon whatever the notification was.

A message.

“Chloe. I know you’re still alive and you’re --- _not_ … going to fucking believe what just happened to me. I-I need you to pick me up.”

A sigh.

“And full disclosure, I’m probably going to cry into your shoulder for like … I-don’t-know, an hour. So. … Coordinates attached.”

The message was quiet, for a few seconds.

“Oh, and um. I have a message from Max, too. I … probably should have started with --- you-know-what just … come here, _okay_?”

That was Victoria, alright, but she sounded tense.

Disorganized.

It wasn’t anything like her.

Chloe was worried.

A little bit, at least.

Chloe was also more than a little bit excited at the prospect of a message from Max.

But she didn’t want to get _too_ excited.

It’d be easier, that way, when it turned out to be nothing special.

_Trust me._

Chloe sighed, lowered her ship’s ramp, and made it out.

Nathan was just chilling on some cargo container.

Legs crossed, and all.

Like some kind of monk.

She told him her plans, so that someone would know what happened to her.

He understood.

With that little busy work done, Chloe got back onto her ship, and set a course for the coordinates that Victoria sent to her.

It was imperial space.

Chloe frowned.

What in the hell was she doing there.

In fact these looked like –

Chloe blinked.

 

Victoria had better have a good story as to why she was on the planet that housed the same imperial prison that Chloe just got out of.

 _Especially_ when she just came off a republic operation.

 

Chloe landed at the space port and walked outside.

She crossed her arms and looked around.

Only now did she realize that Victoria hadn’t given her any instructions as to _where_ to go past just this planet.

Maybe she should ---

“Chloe!”

Chloe frowned, and looked to her side.

A normal-looking storm trooper was rapidly approaching her.

_Stay out of trouble._

Chloe sighed.

“Yo I didn’t do nothin’, you got the wrong person. Name’s Alyx.”

The trooper canted its head.

“ **What**? _Oh_. Right, the ---“

The trooper made a sound of exasperation and pulled its helmet off.

Chloe blinked about a couple dozen times.

That was Victoria.

“This day just keeps getting better and better …”

In a storm trooper outfit.

Victoria walked up close and all but collapsed into Chloe’s shoulder.

Chloe sighed, and wrapped an arm around.

Victoria’s face was stuffy and puffy.

She had to have been crying, a lot.

“Hey hey hey, come on, it’s alright.”

Victoria huffed indignantly and righted herself to smack Chloe on that same shoulder.

“Don’t --- _don’t_ tell me that right now. It’s _not ---_ “

Victoria sighed.

“Nothing’s alright. Everything’s fucked.”

Despondent.

Her eyes had been downcast, and the color left her face.

Chloe looked around, briefly, since they were still in pretty public of a space.

Some other storm troopers giving them a suspicious gaze was all the encouragement she needed.

“I promise you, Vic, it’s not as bad as you think it is. But let’s talk in my ship.”

Victoria’s face scrunched up in confusion, but then she just nodded and put her helmet back on.

“I really want to believe you. So I’m going to.”

Chloe laughed gently.

“And you were wondering where my golden tongue went.”

Victoria groaned.

“Shut up and move, already.”

 

They walked in companionable silence until they were back on Chloe’s ship.

Mostly to avoid making an already suspicious-looking scene even worse.

Chloe sat down on her pilot’s seat and started to take off.

Victoria tore her helmet off and tossed at the floor in frustration.

Chloe looked back with a huff.

“I _just_ cleaned these floors. Don’t abuse ‘em.”

Victoria rolled her eyes.

“You never clean your ship. That’s why it smells like ass in here.”

Chloe looked forward with a grumble, again.

“It smells like ass in here since I just fit half of Alderaan in it.”

Victoria gasped, audibly.

“What?!”

She immediately sat down on the co-pilot’s seat and gave Chloe that _look_.

When she was so done with Chloe’s bullshit.

“This _better_ not be a fucking joke Chloe or I’m going to ---“

Chloe raised her hands up defensively, briefly, and gave Victoria a sidelong look.

“Chill, chill, jeez. So I was … _chilling_ … on Alderaan,”

Chloe paused to emphasize her pun, but Victoria wasn’t having it, and didn’t engage,

“When this fuckin’ moon thing just shows up out of nowhere. I get the bad jujus, so I evacuate who I can. Probably about… I don’t know, twenty-thirty people sitting in the palace?”

Victoria went quiet for a few moments.

She breathed in shakily, like her entire body was being compelled to shiver violently.

“Did you save my family?”

Chloe nodded.

“Your mom, dad, and boyfriend.”

Victoria made a weak crying sound, and covered her face with both of her hands.

It was a little awkward, but she still managed to lean over onto Chloe’s shoulder.

Chloe sighed.

“Oh my god Chloe I was _so_ worried and ---“

“--- Shh.”

Chloe gave Victoria these quiet moments so that she could recover.

After a few minutes, Victoria numbly sat up and crossed her arms.

“I can’t believe it. Can I see them?”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“No, I handed them over to imps. You’ll never see them again.”

Despite everything, Victoria smiled weakly.

“You’re such an ass.”

“I dumped them off at Yavin-4. That’s where we’re going now.”

Victoria blinked.

“How – what - that’s where the rebellion is headquartered right now.”

_Oh._

Chloe sighed.

So much for avoiding rebels.

She probably should have known, by all the weird secrecy and shit.

Chloe shrugged.

“Someone suggested it, no one else had any better ideas.”

“I see …”

Quiet.

“Oh, right, um.”

Chloe looked sidelong to Victoria, who produced a small data disc.

“Max wanted you to have this.”

Chloe felt the wind knocked out of her.

Victoria really _did_ have a message from Max.

Chloe bit her lip and took the disc from Victoria.

 

Victoria looked down at her lap, and entangled her hands with one another there.

“She said it might be a little hard for you to watch. I-I can go crash on your bed, I don’t need to see it.”

Chloe looked at Victoria, again.

There was that odd, vulnerable part of her.

So quiet, and concerned.

Chloe smiled, softly.

“You don’t want to watch and find things to tease me about?”

Victoria laughed weakly, but didn’t look up.

“Well, if you insist… I can be your moral support if it gets too rough.”

Chloe smiled wider and put the disc into her ship’s computer.

“Coming from the person who literally just stopped crying five seconds ago.”

Victoria opened her mouth to retort, but.

The image of Max in her black trooper armor appeared, and sucked the air out of both.

They went quiet.

 

“Mission parameters for Trooper AB-6-9-4-2. Please close this message now if you are someone else.”

Even in the little hologram, devoid any color but blue, Chloe could see Max looking around, before taking off her helmet.

“Chloe.”

She breathed in deep, and looked down.

“I’m so sorry.”

Chloe sucked in a harsh breath.

Victoria kept looking between her, and the hologram of Max, and back again,

“You’ve never deserved … any of this. You’ve never deserved a friend who abandoned you for years, or stupid fatal curse, or …”

Max sighed,

“Your parents enslaved, or me becoming who I am.”

She looked up, and crossed her arms.

“You didn’t deserve someone too scared of what would happen to you to find the courage to say …”

She smiled gently, somehow,

“That I like you a lot, too.”

Chloe whimpered and welded her eyes shut.

Victoria raised a hand up to rub at her shoulder.

Max was quiet, for a few moments.

She then frowned.

“I couldn’t tell you, then. The Emperor wants you dead. He sees me killing you as some … rite of passage, or something. If you knew …”

Max looked off to the side, but smiled gently again,

“I know you would stop at nothing to make it work.”

Chloe bit her lip and tried not to cry.

But it was pointless.

She cried anyway.

Max’s voice, too, came out with some difficulty. It wavered here and there.

“And the only reason I can tell you now, is … I’m probably going to be dead, soon.”

Chloe looked straight back up and forced her eyes open.

“No! Fuck you! No!”

Victoria bit her lip too, but didn’t know how she could possibly make Chloe feel any better about the news.

Max sighed.

“The empire has gone too far. With the destruction of Alderaan … Countless lives were lost. Too many. This is not what peace looks like --- It’s my fault. I didn’t push the button, but I didn’t stop it, either.”

She looked off to the side.

“I must do whatever I can to make things right. The plans I obtained from Victoria show a weak spot in the Death Star’s construction.”

She looked back to the camera, again.

“I will personally see to the destruction of it. I won’t leave until it’s certain. If that means it kills me …”

She sighed,

“Then it kills me. But so long as this horrible device doesn’t continue to take so many lives …”

She smiled gently,

“I’ll be at peace.”

Chloe just lost what remained of her composure, then.

Max went quiet.

“I’ve attached the complete plans to the Death Star, and the emperor’s flag ship. Please, work with Victoria again and get these to the rebels. The emperor’s flag ship will be docked along side it, soon. That’s when I’ll attack.”

She looked off into the distance.

“If the rebels can fight well enough, maybe they can destroy his ship while I’m distracting them, and then we’ll all …”

Max couldn’t finish the sentence, though, and just sniffled.

She raised a hand up to rub at her forehead.

“I’m so sorry … I just … I want you to know, I’ve always wanted to be with you. I can never say sorry enough for things I’ve done and how I’ve treated you …”

Max smiled, weakly, despite the pain in her voice and tears,

“But at least one of us will live. This stupid universe won’t win. There will be true peace in the galaxy, yet.”

Max went quiet for another few moments.

“When I go, I’ll be thinking of our kiss.”

With that, the hologram cut out.

 

Chloe leaned over onto one side and covered her face with a hand.

Victoria still didn’t really know what to do, but.

“Sounds like she cared for you a lot.”

She could try.

Chloe emitted a laughing-sputtering-crying mess of a noise.

It sounded pretty pathetic.

“Cares. She _cares_ for me a lot.”

Chloe corrected, when she could manage to steady her breathing long enough for it.

She lowered her hand to cross her arms, and looked away from Victoria.

“But she’s just going to leave me all alone. How is that caring?”

Victoria bit her lip.

“You know you don’t mean that.”

Chloe groaned painfully and closed her eyes.

She shifted on her seat to be leaning more towards Victoria’s rubbing hand.

“No … I don’t. I’m just so … _everything._ Pissed off, sad --- everything.”

Chloe cracked her neck, suddenly, and shook her head.

“But I’m not going to let her die.”

“Chloe …”

Chloe frowned, and looked to Victoria.

“She wants you to live.”

Chloe looked forward, to the stars, again.

“And I want _her_ to live. That’s something she hasn’t fucking got yet, so I need to tell her. Face to face.”

Victoria sighed, but knew better than to try and convince Chloe when she was like this.

Instead, she just pulled her hand away, and crossed her own arms.

It took her a few seconds to work up the nerve, before,

“Just don’t die, okay?”

It took a few seconds past that for Chloe to process it.

But she smiled gently, somehow.

“When I was on Alderaan last, Nathan and Bail told me about how you responded when you figured out I might have died.”

Victoria frowned and huffed.

“Jerks.”

Chloe couldn’t help but laugh softly.

“But I mean – that. That reaction. That moment. That’s the thing Max isn’t thinking of when she goes off and does these things. She’s imagining life will just go on for me, and I’ll find something else to make me whole.”

Victoria continued to frown.

“How do you know that?”

Chloe sighed wearily.

“Because it’s how I was thinking. About you, my parents – everything. It didn’t matter if I died.”

They both were quiet.

Considering.

Chloe looked forward.

“But it does matter, if I die. So. I’m not gonna.”

Quiet.

The thought was nice.

Peaceful.

They could both enjoy it.

 

“So. Um. How’d you end up in a Stormtrooper outfit?”

Victoria scoffed.

“It’s … a long story.”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“We got time.”

Victoria exhaled wearily.

“It involves Max, a lot. Are you sure you’d want to hear it?”

Chloe rolled her eyes, again,

“Do I want to hear a story about my girlfriend? Uh, _duh_.”

Victoria laughed.

“You’re fucking impossible sometimes. Alright, alright. So, we went off to fight on Scarif …”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the end of part two! 
> 
> I hope you all have enjoyed it so far. Please let me know what you thought of it in the comments. As always, I'll try to read and reply to every one of them.


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